Beat Up Backlog
Downward economic indicators, industry awards and more glass on the horizon
Each time an index comes out, I run through it and give you all some quick thoughts. Lately I have been mystified over the Architectural Billings Index. It’s just overperforming reality in my opinion.
Well now comes the latest Construction Backlog Report and that one, unfortunately, is connecting to my pessimism pretty well. This report has fallen three months in a row and is under water. This write up breaks it all down for you, and this too may be “off” because as we know in a post-Covid world nothing can be assumed or guaranteed in any report. Still the marching orders remain the same for me; that is communicate, diversify and keep your head on a swivel.
Elsewhere...
Glazing Executives Forum Lineup to Tackle Supply Chain, Labor
Aside from forecasts like mentioned above, the biggest questions I get these days are focused on the supply chain and labor/culture. I think they are easily the biggest issues facing our industry on a day-to-day basis. I am thrilled to see the annual Glazing Executives Forum taking these all on—head on actually—this October in Las Vegas.
The more we can educate and bring visibility on to these issues and spread the communication the better. Two of the speakers on these subjects are set with Vic McConnell and Connor Lokar. Both are leaders in their fields and will bring the highest level of perspective available to the subject. The time is now to start plugging in your plans to come to GlassBuild in October and also attend the Glazing Executives Forum too. Learn more about Glazing Executives Forum, I’ll see you there!
GlassBuild Awarded Top Trade Show Honor
Congrats to the team at GlassBuild for being awarded as one of the top trade shows in the U.S.! Huge deal to be recognized by Trade Show Executive Magazine in their “Gold 100” rankings. I can tell you from having the honor of working alongside the team at GlassBuild that those folks absolutely bring it, have 1,000 things going on at once and still come through with a great event every single time. Congrats!
Latest From the Fabricator Pod
If you missed my latest podcast, here’s another reminder. This was my first ever “onsite” interview and the reaction has been tremendous. Thank you to all who have chimed in. The latest pod featured a tremendous trio from Quaker Window and they were something special for sure.
Another new podcast should drop next week too, so again, thank you for listening/watching and following along!
How the Dynamic Glass Act will Affect Glazing Material Use
In the latest governmental moves the Dynamic Glass Act looks like it is coming together. (It is in the same legislation as the 80,000 new IRS employees, which makes me wonder where in the world are they going to find 80,000 people to work there, or anywhere, these days!) This move could be a very big plus for the dynamic glass space and get more high-performance materials out there; it will also probably carry other glazing materials just as an offshoot further too. Excited to see what the Halio and Sage folks do with this behind them.
D.C.’s Net Zero Policy
Speaking of items that could move the needle; Washington, D.C. puts into place to go all net zero by 2026. That too means more high-performance glass and glazing. Love to see this and this sort of thing will invite more usage of VIG, Transparent PV, Thin Triples and more. Will more follow this aggressive lead?
Goldray Honored by Vanceva World of Color awards
The Vanceva World of Color awards were announced and it was awesome to see the great team at Goldray recognized at the top! Here is the rundown of all the details but a massive congrats to Mike Saroka, Laura Little and the entire team at Goldray!
