February 2022 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Construction is still booming and New South continues to remain busy supporting clients across our ten branches in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida. We have gotten several, recent large PO’s for tilt up and other types of jobs, and our new Jacksonville, FL branch is exceeding expectations, breaking us into the Florida market quickly. Commodity products were all basically flat from January through February, with the only exception being lumber. See below for details on the key products we supply.

The lumber market continues to struggle for consistency with many of the familiar factors causing supply chain disruptions. Low sitting inventory at mills and extended lead times on shipments are back to being the norm. Pricing continues to climb as availability continues to decline. Import lumber typically used to help offset domestic supply chain issues is also seeing supply chain constraints. Severe logistic and transportation problems at the ports continue. Many of the inbound Euro SPF loads moving through the ports are arriving to their final destination weeks after originally promised. These availability issues and high prices are expected to remain for at least the next 4 to 5 weeks.

Rebar has stayed flat for another month and pricing remains at the levels set in early December. Inventory remains fairly accessible with mills having more sitting inventory available than in the months prior to the December price increase. The regional mills appear to be on different rolling schedules for each size, so inventory has been slightly easier to acquire if buyers are willing to work across multiple mills.

Wire Mesh has also remained flat through February. There are rumblings of a potential price increase in the coming months, but nothing has been firmly established on what that increase would look like.  Lead times have improved slightly with lead times closer to 8-10 weeks. Expectations are for lead times to remain in this range well through summer.

Poly has also remained flat over the past month, but like lumber, the lead times have begun to stretch out. Lead times for straight loads of single size rolls are averaging close to three weeks, while mixed loads are averaging between four and five weeks from time of order placement. There are not expectations for price to drop soon, so bulking up on springtime inventory should be to concerning.

Construction input costs and bid prices both accelerated in January, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data posted on February 16. The producer price index (PPI) for material and service inputs to new nonresidential construction climbed 2.6% for the month (up from 0.9% in December) and 20% year-over-year (y/y). The PPI for new nonresidential building construction—a measure of the price that contractors say they would bid to build a fixed set of buildings—increased 3.8% for the month and 17% y/y, the most in the series’ 12-year history.

Click here for the latest update on the construction economy from Ken Simonson, the chief economist of the AGC.

Catching up with our Customers

In this month’s segment of “Catching up with our Customers,” we highlight Kyle Daigle, Owner of Bottomline Construction Services, a concrete foundations company based out of Savannah, GA and with an office in Charleston, SC. Kyle started his business after years working up the ranks at Firm Foundations in Atlanta, GA, another great customer of ours. Kyle works primarily with Steve Melton, our Market President, and the Hardeeville, SC (Hilton Head Island/Savannah area) branch. We had a great interview with Kyle, where we learned more about how he got started in the business, the story of how he opened his second office, and talked through construction predictions for the rest of 2022. Take five minutes to read the informative interview by visiting our blog.
 

Featured Manufacturers

Owens Corning

Premier supplier of insulation, roofing, and fiberglass composites

SpecChem

Makers of Chemicals and Aggregates for the Concrete Industry

Zurn

A worldwide leader in trench drain systems

Associate Profile

Raymond Aiello
Manager in Training Hardeeville, SC

Our Associate Spotlight this month is of Raymond Aiello, a Manager in Training at our Hardeeville, SC branch. Ray was born in Beaufort, SC and received his high school diploma from the Beaufort Academy, class of 2012. He received his bachelor’s degree at Georgia Southern University with a degree in Criminal Justice, and he is in the process of earning his Masters of Business Administration at The Citadel Military College. He is 75 percent complete as of this newsletter. He got married in February 2021, and he and his wife are expecting a baby girl this June. Ray has been a great addition to our team in Hardeeville.
 

Our Leadership article this month is, Great Leaders Share These Three Characteristics.
How many of them do you have?
 

Great leaders share these 3 characteristics

By Dan Rockwell

#1. Ready to say YES:
Consistent results require stable environments. ‘No’ protects the status quo; ‘Yes’ disrupts.

If you aren’t careful, ‘no’ becomes your default response to input and ideas. If you frequently say ‘no’, people choose sleepwalking over engagement.

5 ways to lean toward YES:
Be ready with a first response that leans toward ‘yes’ instead of ‘no’.

1. How can you give that a try?
2. What are you trying to accomplish? Instead of simply saying ‘no’, explore goals.
3. What do you need to make this happen?
4. What needs to be true for you to take this idea forward?
5. Who is impacted if you move this idea forward?

You tell people their ideas matter when you lean toward ‘yes’.

Tip: Use caution when ideas impact others more than the idea giver. It’s easy to know what others should do.

#2. Ready to finish stuff:

Starting things is a distraction when you aren’t committed to finish stuff.

You end up overworked and stressed out when you habitually add to your bucket without taking something out.

Manageable time pressure increases concentration. Running from one thing to the next invites frustration, mediocrity, and cutting corners.

 If you’re a leader who loves to start things, finish something old before you start something new.

#3. Ready to learn:

Learners go further than knowers.

You can be ready to say ‘yes’ and ready to finish stuff, but you’ll crash and burn if you aren’t ready to learn.

1. Show up asking, “What can I learn?”
2. Stay open to learning from unexpected people.
3. Ask, “What am I missing?”
4. Record learnings.

There is a lot to look forward to this spring. The worst of winter is over here in the south and construction may even get more heated as the weather warms up. 

Best regards,

Jim Sobeck
President & CEO 864-263-4377 (Direct Line)
jim.sobeck@newsouthsupply.com

Main Office/Branch: Greenville, SC

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