LG Appliances and Home8

LG had a large presence at the 2023 International Builders’ Show (IBS 2023), showing off a wide collection of new home appliances. It introduced a new residential system connecting all these appliances that LG calls “Home8.”

Basically, it’s an energy storage system that allows homes to create energy reserves and pull from them during times of peak electricity costs. This system works with existing infrastructure to provide homeowners with efficient, clean and reliable energy.

Sherwin-Williams’s Outlook

Sherwin-Williams CEO John G. Morikis announced during a company earnings call in late January the company expects a “very meaningful deceleration of demand” for their paint products.

“We will not be immune from what we expect to be a very challenging demand environment in 2023,” Morikis said. “Visibility beyond our first half of the year is limited. On the architectural side, U.S. housing will be under significant pressure this year. Slowing existing home sales and continued high inflation also will be headwinds.

“On the industrial side, we have already seen a slowdown in Europe, and the same is beginning to appear in the U.S. across several sectors. In China, COVID remains a factor and the trajectory of economic recovery is difficult to map.”

Morikis has been the CEO of the Cleveland-based company since 2016.

Sherwin-Williams’ stock price plummeted nearly nine percent after the company’s earnings reports, from $247.09 a share to $225.06 by the end of the day. It has since rebounded roughly five percent and was trading at $235.51 when the markets closed on Feb. 8.

According to Natalie Lung of Yahoo, existing home sales have declined year-over-over for 16 consecutive months. Coupled with increased mortgage rates, new residential volume “could decline 10%-20% this year,” she writes.

“(Sherwin-Williams) is focusing on investing, adding stores and growing the market share of its residential repaint business — its largest and fastest growing segment, which includes paints and coatings for inside and outside the home — saying that factors such as home-price appreciation and aging housing stock can help offset the impact from slowing existing home sales.”

Shifting Housing Market

Surging mortgage rates hit record lows in 2021 but increased dramatically in a span of 12 months.

Interest rate increases have major ramifications on mortgage payments. A 30-year fixed-rate loan at three percent on a $400,000 home with a 20 percent down payment, or $80,000, would cost roughly $1,350 per month for principal and interest. A six percent loan for that same home would cost $1,900 a month. That’s a difference of $550 a month.

Bankrate reported December 2022 was the 11th consecutive month with declining home sales. The median home price in the U.S. reached a record high $413,800 in June, but has since retreated to $366,900, according to Bankrate.

Last week, National Association of Home Builders chief economist Rob Dietz said at a press briefing at the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas that a “recession is underway” for home builders, according to Construction Dive.

“We’ve never had a period where home prices have declined and there has not been a recession,” Dietz was quoted as saying. “I think the rest of the economy will feel it in 2023 via slowing economic output and rising job losses.”

“The trend away from gas is very clear where I am,” says Jeff Cordulack, who runs the all-electric lawn care service Organic Ways and Means in Stamford, Connecticut. “I get phone calls every week from people who want to switch away from gas and toxins. Half the clients are nature-oriented, and the other half just can’t handle the noise of the ubiquitous gas blowers, especially with the working-from-home trend of late.”

Cordaluck’s clients are not the only ones concerned with lawn mower noise levels and environmental concerns. Those same factors are also some of the driving forces behind Honda’s decision to exit the U.S. gas-powered lawn mower market. The company officially plans to cease all production of gas models by the end of September 2023, selling off its remaining inventory through 2024.

Why is Honda Ditching Gas-Powered Lawn Mower Motors?

A Honda spokesperson told Family Handyman that the decision was “driven by market forces such as stricter environmental regulations, shifting customer preferences and our focus on growing profitable products in our portfolio.”

Is This Going to Affect Any Other Honda Products?

It doesn’t appear so. Honda has stated it “will continue to sell the remainder of its lawn and garden product line and industrial-type power products such as GX engines, generators, and water pumps, and continue to support its service and parts operations in the U.S. market.”

The company declined to comment on any other aspects of this decision, such as whether any remaining stock of gas-powered lawn mowers will be discounted or what their plans are for electric models.

What Will Happen to Honda’s Lawn Mower Manufacturing Plant?

Honda’s gas-powered lawn mowers are currently being produced at the Honda Power Equipment facility in Swepsonville, North Carolina. Next year that facility will instead begin making all-terrain vehicles, which are currently being produced at its plant in Timmonsville, South Carolina. The Timmonsville plant will shift to focus solely on Honda side-by-side production.

Will Other Manufacturers Stop Making Gas-Powered Lawn Mower Motors?

No other manufacturers have made official announcements, but it does appear that the market for gas-powered mowers is shrinking. In 2021, California announced that it would ban the sale of gas-powered lawn equipment by 2024. More than 100 municipalities have also banned gas-powered equipment, with many more cities considering similar legislation.

“There’s a lot of activity on this front from local people wanting to make changes in their towns,” says Cordulack. “I spend a lot of time on calls speaking with town committees about my company and my all-electric equipment.”

Are Gas-Powered Mowers Harmful?

Besides being audibly annoying, gas-powered mowers generate between 90 to 105 decibels, which can cause permanent hearing damage to humans, as well as disrupt wildlife communication and nesting birds. One hour of running a gas mower emits as much carbon dioxide as driving a car 300 miles, and together all of that adds up to 5% of our country’s air pollution. Garden and lawn equipment burn up around 3 billion gallons of gasoline annually in the U.S., roughly equivalent to the energy use of 3 million homes.

This long-awaited decline is mainly the result of the housing market steadily returning to normal following the housing boom in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 and through most of 2021, unprecedented demand for housing and sawmill closures put major pressure on the lumber supply.

Those factors drove up the price of one of housing’s most essential commodities to historic levels, with lumber reaching all-time highs of more than $1,700 per thousand board feet. Now housing demand has cooled thanks to rising mortgage rates, finally allowing the market to catch up and reset.

“We will probably be selling the same floor plans in the future for less money than we were over the last 24 months,” Eric Lipar, CEO of LGI Homes, told Market Insider. “But it’s going to be similar to what it was two years and three years ago, because the last couple years are just going to be an outlier as far as [home] pricing goes.”

As the housing market returns to pre-2020 activity levels, lumber prices are following suit — for the most part. There’s still some volatility in the market. Lumber prices have rebounded slightly since Friday, jumping 8.9 percent early this week.

This uptick should not necessarily be a cause for concern or a sign lumber prices will soar back to where they were early this spring. Before the pandemic, it was normal for lumber prices to fluctuate from $200 to $600 per thousand board feet. The hope for builders, though, is that the days of huge spikes and lumber prices of more than $1,000 per board foot are in the past.

Earlier this month, Alicia Huey, first vice chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), went before Congress to advocate for one potential solution to the trades’ labor issues: recruiting more women. Currently, women make up just 11 percent of the construction workforce in the U.S.

During her meeting with the House Ways and Means Committee, Huey outlined several steps Congress could take to make the construction industry a better place for women in the workforce.

“Congress should pass the Protecting Worker Paychecks and Family Choice Act, which would expand the Paid Family and Medical Leave tax credit to make it more generous for small businesses and make it more affordable for small businesses to offer paid leave by expanding pooling options,” Huey said.

“Similarly, Congress should ensure that existing tax incentives for employer-provided childcare are flexible for businesses. This will help more women who are currently unable to work to get jobs.”

Increasing female participation in the trades is essential to the industry’s labor shortages. According to the latest employment figures, the construction industry added 36,000 new workers in May but still had a staggering 490,000 open jobs. And even though the month of May saw hourly earnings in construction increase 6.3 percent, companies are still having a difficult time finding workers, particularly with experience.

“Despite steeply rising pay for hourly workers, job openings in construction hit an all-time high at the end of April, while the industry’s low unemployment rate suggests experienced workers are scarce,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).

In May 2022, the unemployment rate among jobseekers with construction experience fell to 3.8 percent, almost half what it was the year before. That suggests experienced workers are already working, aging out of construction or moving on to different career paths, leaving the industry desperate for fresh young talent to fill those boots.

“There is no shortage of available, good-paying career opportunities in the construction industry,” said AGC CEO Stephen Sandherr. “Public officials should be exposing people to construction career opportunities that pay well and don’t require a college degree and the debt that all too often comes with it.”

• Increase the production of clean energy technology in the U.S., including solar panel parts;
• Increase the overall capacity of domestic solar manufacturing by entering into streamlined federal contracts with manufacturers;
• Pause tariffs for 24 months on imported solar panels and parts to ensure consistent supply.

“Together, these actions will spur domestic manufacturing, construction projects, and good-paying jobs — all while cutting energy costs for families, strengthening our grid, and tackling climate change and environmental injustice,” the official White House statement says.

Through this initiative, the Biden Administration hopes to dramatically increase domestic production of five main clean energy technologies:

• Solar panel parts;
• Building insulation;
• Heat pumps that heat and cool buildings efficiently;
• Equipment powered by clean electricity-generated fuels;
• Power grid infrastructure, including transformers.

The announcement of these initiatives was met with mixed responses. Some U.S. solar panel manufacturers criticized the decision to pause tariffs on imported solar technologies, saying it undermines domestic production of solar components. Representatives from the solar installation industry were generally more supportive of the move.

“A two-year moratorium is a great step in the right direction,” Sunnova CEO John Berger told Forbes. “Tariffs not only hurt the American economy and the consumer, they also stifle innovation and competition in the market.”

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo released a statement supporting these initiatives.

“As we invest in expanding domestic solar manufacturing and strengthening supply chains to protect our long-term energy security, imported solar panels remain an important component to addressing the immediate demands of bringing additional energy sources online and addressing the energy needs of the American people,” said Raimondo.

“The President’s emergency declaration ensures America’s families have access to reliable and clean electricity while also ensuring we have the ability to hold our trading partners accountable to their commitments.”

Soon, America may be seeing more solar-powered towns like Babcock Ranch.

But as traditional attitudes towards work and education shift and more barriers are broken, the time for women to become a more prominent and active part of the construction industry could be around the corner.

We sat down with Jen Alessandra, senior vice president and chief people officer for American Home Shield, to get some insight into why women should look into construction careers and how construction companies can eliminate the gender discrepancy in their industry.

Why Construction Companies Should Recruit More Women

One of the most talked-about issues currently limiting the U.S. construction industry is the skilled labor gap. According to a recent report, construction needs to add two million workers in the next three years to keep up with housing demand. By focusing more heavily on recruiting women, Alessandra says construction companies can take advantage of an untapped source of potential workers.

“The current labor shortage is presenting an even larger opportunity for women to begin honing the skills needed to build a career in this industry,” she says. “Recruiting women for construction jobs can create more diversity for a company and potentially drive performance.”

How Construction Companies Can Appeal More to Women

Of course, construction companies won’t find enough women to hire if women don’t find jobs in the industry appealing. Alessandra recommends companies reach out to potential candidates when they’re young, before they’ve settled on a career path.

“One tactic is getting in front of women who may just be getting into the work force such as high school, trade school or college students,” says Alessandra. “This is a great time to show them the benefits of an industry when they may be unsure of what they want to do in their careers.”

Most young people don’t consider blue-collar careers after graduating high school. Alessandra says construction companies looking for new talent should present themselves to young people, and in particular young women, as an alternative to the traditional career path.

Misconceptions About Careers in the Trades

Construction industry jobs have developed a certain stigma. Many view them mainly as “dirty” jobs without potential for advancement or career growth. And while that may be true with some industry jobs, there can also be plenty of opportunities and unique benefits in construction.

“One of the most prominent benefits is that the construction industry has one of the lowest gender pay gaps in the U.S.,” Alessandra says. “Many tradespeople have their own businesses, appealing to those with an entrepreneurial mindset. Skilled trades workers are also likely to have increased flexibility as they progress in knowledge and experience.”

Biggest Obstacles to Women in Construction

Many obstacles prevent women from pursuing construction careers. In most cases, being a woman in construction requires a certain level of trailblazing. According to Alessandra, a lack of prominent role models also discourages some women from entering the construction trades.

“With the minimal amount of females in the skilled trades industry, women may feel as though they don’t have anyone to look up to — unless they really do their research,” says Alessandra.

The good news is, those optics are slowly changing. As the number of women in the construction workforce grows, so do the number of organizations and institutions support those women and their careers.

“There are plenty of networking organizations specifically for women in the workforce which can help spread the word about the opportunities within construction,” says Alessandra.

How To Get Started as a Woman In Construction

So how should a woman interested in a career in construction get started? Alessandra recommends doing some homework on a few companies that pique your interest.

“For women who are interested in exploring a career in the trades, online research, following home improvement and construction specialists and podcasts are ways to begin a journey in the skilled trades,” she says.

Find out what services construction companies in your area provide. Narrow things down to the specific trades that might interest you. Don’t be afraid to look online for insights into different company cultures, and what it’s like to work for them.

“Setting up informational interviews with owners and employees of companies in the skilled trades can allow potential candidates to learn more about a job firsthand,” Alessandra says.

The complaint alleges that HomeAdvisor, a company affiliated with Angi (formerly Angie’s List), knowingly misrepresented the quality of the leads it provided to its members.

“Since at least July 2014, HomeAdvisor, through its sales agents and marketing materials, has made representations to service providers about the quality, characteristics, and source of HomeAdvisor’s leads that are false, misleading, or unsubstantiated,” the complaint says.

“HomeAdvisor represents that its leads concern people who intend to hire a service provider soon, even though many of them do not.”

According to the FTC, HomeAdvisor deceived service providers by claiming its leads would land them home improvement jobs at higher rates than HomeAdvisor’s in-house data suggested. The FTC also claims that HomeAdvisor misled members regarding the cost of a subscription to an optional software platform.

“Gig economy platforms should not use false claims and phony opportunities to prey on workers and small businesses,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a press release. “Today’s administrative complaint against HomeAdvisor shows that the FTC will use every tool in its toolbox to combat dishonest commercial practices.”

An Angi spokesperson refuted the claims in the complaint, calling them “outrageous,” “meritless” and “out of touch.”

“The FTC allegations against HomeAdvisor are based on a false narrative using a small handful of cherry-picked, incomplete, and out-of-context recorded sales calls — to serve their agenda,” the spokesperson told FH in an email. “The reality is much different.”

According to Angi, HomeAdvisor has generated “tens of millions” of leads since 2014, with less than four percent resulting in a service provider requesting credit due to a task or location mismatch.

“Fraud and deception don’t work as business models,” the Angi spokesperson said. “If our pros don’t win, we don’t win.”

With that in mind, Marvin Windows decided to give its employees a break. The company recently announced it will give workers one week of paid time off at the end of December. According to the announcement, this “Better Living Week” will allow employees “to recharge and engage in personal wellness during a year in which orders continue to be at record highs.” It covers all employees in all locations.

“Creating better ways of living starts with our employees,” said Paul Marvin, CEO of Marvin Windows. “The thing employees consistently say they need is more paid time off to engage with their lives outside of work and additional support with their physical, mental and financial well-being during a time when we’re working harder than ever.”

Residential windows have been in particularly high demand, and constraints in the glass, resin and vinyl industries have made it difficult for manufacturers to keep up. According to a nationwide survey published in October 2021, more than 60 percent of homebuilders say windows were their biggest material shortage.

“Window manufacturing — even in the most automated facilities — is very labor intensive, which makes the industry even more susceptible to labor shortages and COVID-19 precaution challenges and breakouts,” the report says. “Most window manufacturing facilities rely more on labor and less on capital than other building material manufacturers.”

“We’re deepening our partnership with Pro customers because when they succeed, we succeed,” said Tony Hurst, Lowe’s senior vice president of Pro, Services and International. “We are committed to a true business partnership mindset to help Pros as they grow their businesses and their futures.” 

According to the State of the Pro report, nearly 90 percent of the home improvement professionals surveyed said retailers need to offer a valuable loyalty program. The MVPs Program rewards pro customers with Lowe’s e-gift cards when they make eligible purchases in stores and online.

Other benefits include: 

• Exclusive rewards for eligible paint purchases;
• Automatic entrance into sweepstakes with prizes that include Ford F-Series trucks;
• Free selects snacks and drinks at Lowe’s stores;
• An easy-to-use mobile and online user experience.

The program will also eventually feature “MVPs Bonus Points” that Lowe’s says “can be used for additional exciting rewards helping Pros invest in their businesses and themselves.” Lowe’s MVPs Pro Rewards is available today in certain parts of the U.S., and nationwide starting March 7.

Lumber prices peaked in May 2021, with the cost of softwood lumber hitting well over $1,600 per thousand board feet. Just a few months later, lumber crashed back down to less than $600 per thousand board feet. It appeared the cost of wood might hover close to those pre-pandemic levels for some time.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. Lumber prices doubled from November 2021 to January 2022, climbing back over the $1,000 per thousand board feet threshold. Currently, the price remains volatile. It continued its gradual rise in the first half of January before declining sharply in the back half of the month.

So Why Are Lumber Prices Rising Again?

Canadian environmental issues

Several major storms struck parts of Canada in late 2021 and early 2022. Heavy rains and flooding in the West, including British Columbia, caused massive supply chain disruptions.

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd, the Canadian-based forestry company, reported in November its weekly shipments in Western Canada had fallen by as much as 30 percent. These disruptions had massive repercussions in the U.S., since Canadian forests and lumber mills supply more than a quarter of the lumber to the American market.

Then there’s another environmental issue: The beetle infestation Canada has been dealing with since the ’90s. Female mountain pine beetles lay eggs underneath the bark of softwood trees. Over time, their larvae eat away at the tree until it dies. According to the Canadian Forest Service, mountain pine beetle infestations caused the loss of more 750 million cubic tons of pine wood.

Increased tariffs

One of the most significant economic factors driving up lumber prices is an increase in tariffs on Canadian lumber imports into the U.S.. Last Nov. 24th, the U.S. Commerce Department raised tariffs on imports from Canadian softwood producers to 17.99 percent, more than double the previous rate. That brought criticism from the U.S. construction industry.

“This decision undermines the historic funding commitment made to housing in the Build Back Better legislation and erodes efforts by Commerce Secretary Raimondo and other Biden administration officials to tackle the lumber and building materials supply issues plaguing the industry,” said Chuck Fowke, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders.

“Doubling the tariffs will only exacerbate market volatility, put upward pressure on lumber prices and make housing more expensive.”

Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, echoed Fowke’s sentiment. “A doubling of this tariff will only prolong the extreme price increases that have hit lumber repeatedly over the past 18 months,” Simonson said.

American lumber producers, however, were much more accepting of the tariffs, anticipating increased domestic production to fill the gap.

“The U.S. Lumber Coalition strongly urges the Administration to continue full trade law enforcement,” said Jason Brochu, chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition.

“More U.S. lumber being produced in America to meet domestic demand is a direct result of the enforcement. A level playing field is critical for the continued investment and growth of the domestic lumber industry and its hundreds of thousands of workers and thousands of communities across the United States.”

The Pro Xtra Credit Card comes with a handful of features to make day-to-day business operations simpler and more convenient for pros. With the Pro Xtra card, The Home Depot’s pro customers can:

• Issue cards to employees for their own purchases;.
• Return items for up to one year;
• Access itemized billing statements and easily track purchases made on the card.

Pros can link their Pro Xtra Credit Card to their Pro Xtra loyalty program accounts and earn perks and rewards four times faster than with other Home Depot credit cards. Upon approval, Pro Xtra members will receive an offer to save up to $100 off of their next qualifying purchase

Opening a Pro Xtra Credit Card includes automatic enrollment in the Pro Xtra program, giving cardholders access to loyalty program perks like volume pricing, exclusive product offers and paint rewards.

Heightened Levels of Demand

Like many home products, demand for appliances rocketed up as people prepared to spend more time at home than ever before. That demand did not taper off as the pandemic stretched on. In fact, appliance sales in the first half of 2021 were even higher than they were in 2020. Unfortunately, that heightened demand hit at a time when manufacturing around the world was taking a significant hit. Pandemic-caused factory shutdowns made it nearly impossible for manufacturers to keep up with demand, creating a backlog that the appliance industry has yet to fully recover from.

Surging Tin Prices

One of the more recent developments hampering the global supply of appliances is the upward trend in tin prices. Tin, which is frequently used as a soldering agent in many types of manufacturing, has nearly doubled in price over the last year. Tin is now much more expensive and harder to come by in general and that is hampering appliance manufacturers’ output even more than it already has been.

“As the global economy normalises after the pandemic, do some of those tin-specific pandemic drivers start to fade? I think that’s a key question and uncertainty for demand next year,” Tom Mulqueen, head of research at Amalgamated Metal Trading (AMT) Ltd told Reuters.

Semiconductor Shortage

As with many of the shortages that are currently affecting the global economy, one of the root causes of the appliance shortage is the simultaneous shortage of semiconductor computer chips. A decade ago, a shortage of semiconductor chips would have had very little impact on the appliance industry. But since then appliances stuffed full of “smart technology” have become the norm, forcing appliance manufacturers to rely on computer chips to make things like smart refrigerators. But the market for these semiconductor chips is highly competitive, and there are only so many chips to go around. If the shortage of semi-conductor chips continues for much longer, appliance manufacturers may have to follow the example of automobile manufacturers and go back to making appliances without some of the high-tech features that consumers are now used to.

Unfortunately, many areas across the U.S. are facing a shortage of snowplow drivers that threatens to severely impact travel conditions this winter. According to the Associated Press, several states including Pennsylvania, Montana and Washington, all report difficulties finding snowplow drivers.

“We want the traveling public to understand why it could take longer this season to clear highways during winter storms,” Jon Swartz, maintenance administrator for the Montana Department of Transportation, told the AP. “Knowing this helps motorists to plan ahead and adjust or even delay travel plans.”

There are multiple reasons for this shortage. One is obvious: Operating a snowplow is hard, dangerous work that often requires drivers to stay up all night clearing roads. Another is the lack of competitive pay. These state DoT’s are competing for drivers with private companies who can afford to pay better wages. Ongoing concern regarding COVID-19 has also undoubtedly contributed to the shortage.

In some regions, the snowplow driver shortage is less severe near the big cities but problematic in less populous areas. In snowy Minnesota, the DoT has reported no staffing issues and expects to be in “good shape when it comes to snowplow drivers.” But things are not as rosy in Cook County, a rural area far north of the Twin Cities, where they are not only short on drivers, but applicants for open positions.

The plumber, identified by Houston media as Justin Cauley, made the find while removing tile from a bathroom wall at Lakewood Church, the megachurch of celebrity pastor and televangelist Joel Osteen.

As the plumber peeled tiles and insulation away from the wall, envelopes filled with cash began to fall out. While the church hasn’t said how much money was recovered, the Houston Police Department released a statement confirming it was a considerable sum, possibly related to a reported theft from the church seven years ago.

Police were called November 10 to investigate. News of the finding did not become public until weeks later when a man identifying himself as the plumber called into a local Houston radio station morning show.

“There was a loose toilet in the wall and we removed the tile … Went to go remove the toilet and I moved some insulation away and about 500 envelopes fell out of the wall, and I was like, ‘Oh wow,’ ” the caller said, according to CNN.

Burglary and theft officers for the Houston PD are investigating a connection between the money found and a 2014 report of $600,000 in tithes stolen from Lakewood Church. The church said it’s cooperating with the police investigation.

Cauley is set to receive a $20,000 reward for his discovery.

As it stands today, the Home Builder Institute predicts the industry needs to add 2.2 million more workers in the next three years to keep up with demands for housing.

This gap prompted action from members of the construction industry. American Home Shield recently announced an initiative to address the skilled labor shortage, releasing a video featuring testimonials from notable figures in the trades.

The American Home Shield initiative spotlights people who found fulfilling careers in the trades. Its purpose: Increasing interest in the field as a career option for young people looking to join the workforce and others seeking a career change.

“There is a ton of opportunity to enter — or re-enter — the workforce with the skills that keep our homes and economy running,” said Kansas City-based handyman Matt Blashaw. “And I’m proud to join American Home Shield in the celebration and support of the skilled trades.”

The video also highlights opportunities for women in the skilled trades, showcasing several who made careers in construction. Women currently make up less than five percent of the construction workforce. Creating more opportunities for young women and appealing more to women in general could provide a significant boost.

“With careers in the skilled trades, I found empowerment and opportunity that I would love to see more girls and young women pursue,” said Mina Starsiak Hawk.

Of course, the skilled labor shortage is not unique to the construction industry. A recent survey showed nearly 47 percent of the surveyed businesses reported a shortage of skilled workers in the third quarter of this fiscal year.

The need for skilled workers is felt broadly across the U.S., and addressing that need might require some larger systemic changes. Stephen Sandherr, CEO of the Associated General Contractors of America, recently released a statement calling on the federal government to invest more in the development and education of the skilled trades workforce.

“The federal government currently spends only one dollar on career training for every six it puts into college prep, despite the fact only one in three jobs requires a college degree,” Sandherr said. “Boosting federal investments in career and technical education will help attract and prepare more people into high-paying careers in construction.”

A recent report from JPMorgan indicated the chip shortage isn’t expected to end soon, with experts predicting short supplies well into 2022. Here are three of the main factors that led to this global shortage.

Increased Demand for Electronics

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a wave of shutdowns that stalled activity at factories across the world. At the same time, people were stuck at home looking for things to do and ways to entertain themselves.

This led to a huge increase in demand for consumer electronics while the factories making them could not churn out their normal levels of supply. The backlog put computer chip production into a hole it still hasn’t emerged from.

Supply Chain Disruption

It’s not just that there aren’t enough computer chips to go around. It’s also hard for facilities and factories to get them.

Ripple effects of the pandemic severely impacted the global supply chain. Shipping ports that shut down early in the pandemic faced cargo bottlenecks when they reopened, leaving stacks of cargo waiting to be shipped. The supply chain still hasn’t recovered, and ongoing worldwide labor shortages haven’t helped. Unfortunately, these problems aren’t expected to resolve themselves for some time.

“I believe honestly it’s going to be at least another year or two if not more … I think it is going to go beyond 2022,” Nabil Sultan, divisional senior vice president of Emirates SkyCargo, recently told Reuters. “There are huge logistical challenges that are out there.”

The Auto Industry

One of the largest driving factors behind the computer chip shortage is the auto industry. Modern vehicles rely on computer chips their electronic dashboards and cutting-edge safety features.

At the onset of COVID-19, car manufacturers canceled their orders for new chips, expecting that demand for new vehicles would drop off. When it didn’t, car companies couldn’t maintain normal production schedules. And the auto industry’s need for computer chips is expected to get a lot worse.

“We see the semiconductor requirements more than doubling over the next several years as the vehicles that we produce become more of a technology platforms,” said General Motors President Mark Reuss at a recent investment conference.

Currently, automobile manufacturers and the U.S. government are trying to find ways to increase computer chip production in the U.S. to ease reliance on foreign-made chips. But that will take time. Meanwhile, the lack of computer chips will continue to be pain in the side of manufacturers around the world.

PROvember stems from a recent survey of Lowe’s pro customers, on topics ranging from their industry expectations to holiday shopping plans.

“As part of our commitment to better understand what Pros want and need, we’re using methods like the Pro Pulse Survey to hear directly from Pros,” said Fred Stokes, Lowe’s senior vice president for pro sales and service.

“Pros say they have been working harder than ever to keep up with the demand for home improvement projects, so we’ve rolled up our sleeves to help them restock and resupply with events like PROvember and special deals all holiday season long.”

PROvember will also feature an exclusive sweepstakes for members of the Lowe’s Pro Loyalty program, as well as special welcome kits for new members. All PROvember deals are available to all Lowe’s customers. You can find them here.

Here are a few PROvember deals to keep an eye on:

DeWalt Power Detect XR Combo Kit

Upgrade your drills with this combo kit from DeWalt. It comes with a three-speed hammer drill and a three-speed impact driver, both of which run off DeWalt’s 20V Max 8.0Ah battery platform. The hammer drill is great for chewing through concrete, while the impact driver’s compact and lightweight frame makes it perfectly suited for drilling in tight spaces.

Shop Now

ToughBuilt Large 16-inch Tool Tote

This tool bag is made to take a beating so the tools and gear inside it don’t. Everything about this tote is heavy-duty, from its hardbody construction to the tear-resistant fabric of its pockets. Plus, ToughBuilt’s patented “ClipTech” pouches will help keep your tools organized and in the right place no matter what happens on the jobsite.

Shop Now

Kobalt 18mm Folding Utility Knife

This folding utility knife would make a great stocking stuffer for your friends and crewmates this holiday season. It’s sleek, small, and easy to use thanks to its quick blade-change mechanism. It comes with 11 replacement blades.

Shop Now

“Equip Exposition is where the landscape changes, and is the place for landscape contractors, outdoor power equipment dealers, distributors, and manufacturers to connect, learn and grow,”  said OPEI President Kris Kiser. “The trade show remains the best place to connect with your peers, network, and gain a competitive business edge.”

Many aspects of the show will be retooled and expanded, with more attention paid to the educational aspects. One thing that will not change, though, is the host city. The rebrand was announced in conjunction with the opening of new OPEI offices in Louisville, Kentucky, where the annual show has been held since 2007.

“The opening of our new office shows the investment our industry has in the event and in its long-standing location of Louisville,” said Kiser. “With OPEI bringing the management of the show wholly under the association’s umbrella, it was time to re-envision the event while honoring its long history.”

Equip Exposition was the sixth largest trade show in the U.S. in 2019 with more than 26,000 attendees. The next one will be October 19-21, 2022. It is scheduled to feature a keynote speech from former pro golfer David Feherty and a concert performance from country music star Trace Adkins. You can request registration info here.

After being forced to move the 2021 IBS online due to coronavirus concerns, event organizers are taking a cautious approach with this year’s live event.

“Guidance related to large gatherings relative to COVID-19 (also referred to as SARS-CoV-2) and associated variants continues to change,” reads a statement on the IBS website. “What will remain constant is the commitment of the NAHB International Builders’ Show (IBS) and the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) to the health and safety of attendees and exhibitors at our shows.”

The 2022 IBS will feature educational sessions led by top industry professionals and showcase some of the most innovative new technologies and construction products hitting the market. An all-access pass to the three-day show will cost $700. Discounts are available for early registrants and members of the National Association of Home Builders.

The show will feature several safety precautions based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Masking indoors will be encouraged for fully vaccinated attendees and required for the non-vaccinated. Show officials have also stated that the potential for further safety measures, including implementing one-way traffic aisles, will be considered closer to the event this winter.

With precautions in place, several former IBS attendees expressed excitement about returning for this year’s event.

“We have always enjoyed the in-person trade show experience, as it allows us to meet with many of our valued home builder industry partners and discuss how we can help them build their business,” says Kelly Safis, general manager of builder sales at Whirlpool Corporation. “We look forward to seeing everyone in Orlando.”

“After attending IBS in 2018 for the first time, I came home and said to myself that I never wanted to miss another IBS again,” says Joshua Dean of Precision Homecrafters, LLC. “There is almost a palpable energy in the air the whole event. The energy creates in me a creativity and motivation to lead my business into the new year.” 

“To support our new store growth, numerous markets have been identified in each state,” Heraty said. “The 60 or more Ace stores still projected to open this year are geographically spread throughout the country in urban, suburban and rural communities.

“Most new Ace retailers open their businesses in the community in which they already live, and have seen the strong opportunity to integrate themselves further in the neighborhoods they already have deep knowledge of.”

More than 900 new Ace locations have opened around the world over the past five years, with shareholders receiving $293 million in dividends in 2020, according to the release.

A 2018 survey by Market Force Information named Ace the most popular home improvement retailer in the U.S., ahead of other major competitors like The Home Depot and Lowe’s. Ace’s score of 68 percent put it 11 percentage points ahead of runner-up Menards.

Ace, founded in 1924 in Chicago, Illinois, is the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the world. It boasts more than 5,500 stores in approximately 70 countries, according to the company’s release. Find a searchable directory for your closest Ace location by clicking this link.

“Deere views autonomy as an important step forward in enabling farmers to leverage their resources strategically to feed the world and create more sustainable and profitable operations,” said Jahmy Hindman, John Deere’s chief technology officer. “Bear Flag’s team of talented agriculture professionals, engineers and technologists have a proven ability to deliver advanced technology solutions to market.”

Automated equipment might have felt like science fiction two decades ago, but the technology has taken several leaps forward in recent years. Now construction companies are using semi-autonomous robots to perform repetitive tasks on jobsites, and self-driving lawnmowers to cut the grass of an entire golf course without a human directing them.

John Deere’s hefty investment automation technology offers another sign that automated equipment will be a large part of the future of several industries.

Bear Hands Robotics, though, has a specific mission: To increase the global food supply amid a skilled labor shortage.

“One of the biggest challenges farmers face today is the availability of skilled labor to execute time-sensitive operations that impact farming outcomes,” said Igino Cafiero, co-founder and CEO of Bear Flag Robotics. “Autonomy offers a safe and productive alternative to address that challenge head on.

“Bear Flag’s mission to increase global food production and reduce the cost of growing food through machine automation is aligned with Deere’s and we’re excited to join the Deere team to bring autonomy to more farms.”

Just 56 percent of the new and existing homes sold from April to June were affordable to families making at least $79,900, the U.S. median family income. This marks a steep drop from the first quarter of 2021, when 63 percent were deemed affordable.

This spike in housing prices comes at a time when lumber prices have fallen drastically, normalizing somewhat after hitting historically high levels in the earlier part of the year. But while a drop in lumber prices should lead to a drop in home prices, it hasn’t manifested itself in housing affordability just yet.

“As the price declines began grabbing headlines, the price of lumber packages quoted to builders held at record highs,” David Logan, senior economist at the National Association of Home Builders, told CNBC. “In economics jargon, prices paid by builders — or ‘street’ prices — were ‘sticky.’ ”

That means home builders are still paying top dollar from suppliers who purchased their inventories earlier in the year, when prices were still high. Lumber suppliers can’t afford to sell their inventory at prices lower than they paid for it, creating a logjam of high-priced wood. And with demand for housing and housing materials holding strong, suppliers have no reason to drop the prices.

On top of that, other kinds of lumber like engineered wood and oriental strand board (OSB) have seen their prices increase just as softwood lumber prices have fallen.

“Runaway construction cost growth, such as ongoing elevated prices for oriented strand board that has skyrocketed by nearly 500 percent since January 2020, continue to put upward pressure on home prices,” said NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke. “Policymakers must address supply chain bottlenecks for building materials that are raising costs and harming housing affordability.”

To combat this rise, stores are resorting to new tactics to thwart would-be thieves. The Home Depot has partnered with manufacturers to sell power tools that require Bluetooth activation when purchased. That means if a thief walks out with a power saw, it can’t be turned on, rendering it useless. This way a retailer can keep oft-stolen items on display instead of locking them up.

Scott Glenn, The Home Depot’s vice president of asset protection, told Insider  he didn’t want to alter the shopping experience for the 99.5 percent of customers who come in to honestly purchase their goods. “We don’t want to look like an armed encampment,” Glenn said.

“The SBA’s new streamlined application portal will simplify forgiveness for millions of our smallest businesses — including many sole proprietors — who used funds from our Paycheck Protection Program loans to survive the pandemic,” said SBA administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman.

The new forgiveness program will be available starting Aug. 4, 2021. Eligible borrowers will receive a link in an email from the SBA that will take them directly to their loan forgiveness application. The application should take less than 10 minutes to fill out and submit.

Unfortunately, not every small business that took out a PPP loan for less than $150,000 can apply for loan forgiveness through this new program. First, the bank they borrowed from has to opt-in. The SBA is reporting that more than 600 lenders have already opted into the direct forgiveness program, giving more than 2 million borrowers access to the more efficient process.

“The vast majority of businesses waiting for forgiveness have loans under $150,000. These entrepreneurs are busy running their businesses and are challenged by an overly complicated forgiveness process,” said Guzman. “We need to deliver forgiveness more efficiently so they can get back to enlivening our Main Streets, sustaining our neighborhoods and fueling our nation’s economy.”

As part of this initiative, the SBA has also formed a customer service team to answer any PPP-related questions and directly assist borrowers with their loan forgiveness applications.

“This initiative will allow PPP borrowers to put their concerns of achieving full forgiveness behind them and focus on operating and growing their businesses again,” said Patrick Kelley, associate administrator for the SBA’s Office of Capital Access. “We are pleased to assist financial institutions across the U.S. in processing forgiveness applications for small business owners.”

Castle of Zafra, Campillo de Duenas

This partly restored castle in Spain was built in the late 12th century or early 13th century. It holds the distinction of never being conquered. It also holds the distinction of appearing in “Game of Thrones” in three episodes.

Make your home a castle with 12 remodeling ideas that will pay off in 2018 or check out some of the most amazing remodeling projects for every room of your house.

Photo: Courtesy of Mick Palarczyk

“Supply chain finance in the construction industry is terribly broken and has been for decades,” Billd CEO Chris Doyle said in a statement. “This funding round is a major milestone towards achieving our vision of solving insurmountable cash flow challenges for contractors.”

Since its founding in 2018. Billd has secured $90 million in funding. The financial services Billd provides enables subcontractors to operate their business and purchase materials when cash flow is restricted, like the time between payment cycles.

Following this round of funding, Billd says it plans to better address contractor cash-flow issues by expanding its product and technology offerings. Billd also intends to hire more staff.

The funding will also allow the service to partner more with other construction industry tech platforms, something it already does. In early July, Billd teamed with StructShare, a materials management software company, to help streamline the materials purchasing process for subcontractors.

“With this latest round of funding, we’ll continue tackling these long-standing pain points for subcontractors,” said Doyle. “Soon, we’ll be releasing new products that will further strengthen modern supply chain financing.”

“Participants discussed core challenges across the housing supply chain, and helped Administration leaders collect additional input to inform the Administration’s near- and medium-term efforts to further strengthen housing supply,” said the White House’s official statement on the meeting.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who is committed to resolving the shortage of lumber and other building materials and increasing the U.S. housing supply, hosted the meeting, along with Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge and others. Several solutions were proposed, including boosting lumber mill production and finding logistical solutions to material shortages.

“The first step is to really get everybody around the table and find out what’s happening, where is the system broken, and what can the industry do better and differently,” Raimondo told Bloomberg in an interview before the meeting.

“Some issues relate to logistics, so if there’s anything that the government can do to help with ports and other modes of transportation, we want to know about that.”

The National Association of Home Builders released a statement after the meeting, praising the summit as a move in the right direction for the industry while conceding the problem is far from over.

“While today’s White House meeting was a step forward, we are not out of the woods yet,” the NAHB statement said.

“Looking ahead, we will remain laser-focused on not only lowering lumber prices and increasing supply, but also keeping pressure on policymakers to improve supply chains for all building materials in order to protect housing affordability.”

“Ours is an industry that, pre-pandemic, had workforce shortages, not just in New York, but really across the country,” said Mike Elmendorf, president and CEO of the New York State Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America.

“Post-pandemic, we have workforce shortages. So, it’s sort of hard to wrap your head around the fact that you had that many job losses, yet you still have contractors that are having trouble finding a workforce.”

The nonresidential construction sector suffered the heaviest job losses, shedding 15,000 jobs in June. Gains in the residential construction sector, which added 13,000 specialty trade contractor jobs in June, were not quite enough to offset the losses in non-residential employment.

Construction employment remains 238,000 jobs short of peak job numbers from February 2020, just before the pandemic. And with the non-residential construction sector still hampered by the post-pandemic building landscape, and the housing boom that propped up residential construction gradually slowing, it may be awhile before the industry recovers to pre-pandemic levels.

“It is hard for the industry to expand when it can’t find qualified workers, key building materials are scarce, and the prices for them keep climbing,” said AGC CEO Stephen Sandherr. “June’s job declines seem less about a lack of demand for projects and a lot more about a lack of supplies to use and workers to employ.”

The document, titled Healthy People in Healthy Places Equals a Healthy Economy, asserts that caring for the environment and caring for people’s health go hand-in-hand, and these two factors are the fastest, most effective way to boost global and local economies shaken by COVID-19-related lockdowns.

Reacting to Rapid Change

The biggest immediate changes are adjustments to the current version of the LEED standard v4.1. The USGBC states that these updates are intended to “support indoor environmental quality, cleaning, occupant comfort, operations, better materials and risk management.”

The USGBC also announced the release of new Safety First LEED pilot credits to address “social distancing, nontoxic surface cleaning, air quality and infection monitoring.” These credits include two designed to address cleaning and occupying a space: Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Space, and Re-enter Your Workspace.

Two more pilot credits address the safety of the water supply and air quality in buildings that have been shut down for weeks on end: Building Water System Recommissioning and Managing Indoor Air Quality During COVID-19. Each of these credits apply to the LEED 2009, LEED v4 and LEED v4.1 guidelines. The USBGC site has details on each of these individual credits as well as two credits for the Cities and Communities rating system, although those last two likely won’t impact most individual projects.

An Ongoing Process

It’s important to note that these credits may change as new studies shed light on best practices. To this end, the USGBC announced a Call for Ideas and asked regional CEO Advisory Councils to explore additional ways to assist the industry and the population they serve.

As the world passes through this period of reopening, pulling back and opening again to respond to the pandemic, USGBC has pledged to promote best practice guidance reports to help smooth the transition as occupants re-enter their spaces.

By making these changes and accelerating existing programs such as the USGBC Equity Program (launched in 2019), the minds behind LEED hope to show how green building practices can improve the environment and global health conditions, as well as boost economies. And that, as USGBC President and CEO Mahesh Ramanujam says, will “help rebuild public trust, stimulate the economy and ultimately bring about a healthier standard of living for all.”