CrossCheck Blog

Advances in sustainability are revolutionizing the construction and building materials industries like never before. However, it's not just the firms and workers of these sectors that are or will be affected — all beings can experience an improved standard of living with healthier materials in place and a diminished use of natural resources. When building materials managers and construction leaders act as ambassadors for the sustainable building movement, they not only decrease the world’s carbon footprint but also tap into a highly profitable market. Influencing clients won’t be so difficult once they see – as many others have – that various sources have proven consumers are willing to pay more in the short term for the long-term payoff of an energy-efficient building. Disclosing energy-efficient renovations when listing houses, condos, and townhomes on the market is resulting in more units sold at higher prices as well as less time listed, according to new real estate studies.

You know that strict safety practices reduce the risk that an accident will ruin you. But safety comes in many forms, and it can have a radical impact on your bottom line in ways that may not be obvious. The voting public has consistently supported regulations designed to protect workers from on-the-job dangers, and the construction industry has embraced this attitude and improved safety constantly for decades. The results have been phenomenal. In 1972, there were eleven injuries per hundred workers. In 2013, there were three.

We have proof! The heavy equipment industry’s recovery must be solid because, over the course of last year, recreation and amusement park construction shot up 24%.

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” – Albert Einstein Most of us know from experience that “perception” and “reality” often have nothing to do with one another, even when we desperately try to accurately perceive what seems like physical reality. For example, when trying to discern what building materials managers and owners can expect for the remaining three quarters of the year, industry analysts look at as many facts as they can and then try to “perceive” what they mean.

The construction industry underlies our entire economy the way a concrete foundation supports a building, and as it turns out innovations in concrete – which don’t come along very often – can give us tantalizing insights into the building supply business. To see how, we should begin with the foundation of the construction industry: housing. Starts in 2014 finally surpassed a million homes for the first time since 2007. But the year ended on an anemic note, with new home sales flat and existing home sales actually declining.

Most successful building materials owners and managers would say that running their business requires a balance of both art and science, especially as we emerge from the recession. Scientists measure things, and on the science side the recession changed your market considerably. Post-recession, the richest 1% of Americans own 40% of the country and the top 5% of earners account for nearly a third of all consumer spending – while incomes for average Americans have declined more significantly than they have in generations:

Now that the construction industry has finally regained its footing, heavy equipment dealership owners and managers face the difficult task of trying to foresee what their contractors will need and how they’ll want to pay to for it. We’re polishing our crystal ball as furiously as you are, and while it’s still not giving us clear answers there’s certainly a happy glimmer coming into focus.