Looking Ahead to 2019
by Paul Deffenbaugh | 2 January 2019 12:00 am
The Metal Construction Association focuses on 2019
The Metal Construction Association (MCA) is pleased to offer insights about the challenges for our industry and a brief forecast of general prospects for 2019. MCA is engaging many of these initiatives through its technical, educational and market development efforts for its members, industry participants and other associations to support your success now and in the future. We invite you to explore how we are working together to increase the use of metal in construction at www.metalconstruction.org[1]. Here is to your success in 2019!
Metal in Construction’s Challenges in 2019
A number of specific issues for us to monitor and act upon within our industry include sufficient labor (skilled, whether certified or not); fire and building codes becoming more focused upon assembly rather than products; product specifications to meet codes whether the material used is sourced from domestic or foreign sources; the maturing of the sustainability movement and the aggressive promotion of engineered wood construction. How we address these issues are likely to affect our short-term success and long-term viability versus competing materials industries.
America’s promising economic performance over the past several years has accomplished historical unemployment records. The downside is available labor is in very short supply, and properly trained labor is even more so. Developing talent is essential to our business success, so participating in local and national training initiatives is an important initiative to engage upon.
Greater attention to product specifications, code compliance and their impact upon assembly performance will continue to become more important for the foreseeable future for all of us. The sooner we incorporate these disciplines into all we do, the better our chances are to increase our market share versus competing materials like engineered wood and concrete products.
Value engineering is an important service to our customers that allows them to create cost-effective solutions to their building requirements. This approach deserves to be evaluated carefully to ensure it does not compromise design parameters or miss code or assembly requirements. This includes ensuring all products considered meet the life and performance parameters expected. Educating our design and purchasing customers on the impact of substitution or redesign is a responsibility we should all take seriously.
We have a great opportunity to take advantage of the increasing importance of sustainability when designing new and renovated projects. Our products are well positioned to excel and should be at the forefront of our commercial and educational efforts to architects, specifiers and end users to expand market share and general acceptance. An aspect to emphasize when addressing the burgeoning engineered wood promotions is to address the different sustainability performances of metal and engineered wood.
We have a lot of good challenges to use to our advantage in 2019, let’s commit to professionally addressing these whenever an opportunity arises.
National Business Challenges in 2019
2018 provided lots of twists and turns for businesses to navigate. There appears to be no reason this will diminish in 2019, so reviewing 2018’s general performance helps us prepare for 2019.
- Strong U.S. economic performance in most categories
- Historic employment performance for most employment sectors
- Global trade turmoil with trade pacts and tariff issues abounding and continuing
- Volatile financial markets
- Interest rates rising to more historical levels
So, what is 2019 supposed to be like? A consensus of prognosticators expects the following:
- Flattening earnings growth after absorbing the tax cut impacts last year
- Employment continuing to improve creating slightly lower unemployment
- Trade turmoil continuing for the U.S. and China, the U.S. and the European Union (EU), and the United Kingdom and the EU affecting global trade
- Anticipating the inevitable end of the longest bull market, if it isn’t already underway
- Interest rate increases slowing to stopping later in the year
- Who knows what unanticipated events will surprise us
Leading our businesses through these economic currents successfully is not simple. The more variables in flux, the greater need for coordinated, structured plans everyone understands. Leading successfully requires planning for different conditions, recognizing those that affect those plans and those that don’t, preparing your teams to react quickly as conditions change, and effectively communicating your plans to your teams.
No one has all the answers to address these challenges alone. Successfully engaging your internal and external teams to prepare for different scenarios, and preparing effective messages for your teams are important tools to maximize your success in 2019 and beyond.
Karl Hielscher is executive director of the Metal Construction Association. Hielscher has more than 25 years experience in the metal construction industry, and was president and CEO of a Metl-Span, Lewisville, Texas, for more than 20 years. For more information, go to www.metalconstruction.org[1].
- www.metalconstruction.org: http://www.metalconstruction.org
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