Items Tagged with 'economy'

An aging housing stock, record levels of home equity and favorable demographics will create positive growth prospects for the remodeling sector in 2025, according to industry experts at a panel hosted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) during the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas.

Plumbing and HVAC contractors navigated a year of challenges and opportunities, with rising demand for energy-efficient systems amid labor shortages. As we look to 2025, growth is expected in commercial sectors like data centers and healthcare, alongside increased home repairs. The focus on sustainability and technology will drive innovation in the industry.

May was a quiet month for ASA members with a slight dip in year-to-date sales, but the trailing 12-month sales showed a small positive growth of 0.4%.

This article covers the significant trends impacting the industrial distribution sector, including digital transformation, data optimization, omnichannel approaches, and industry consolidation. It offers insights into how these trends will shape the future of industrial distribution.

As 2023 comes to a close it is now time to review my predictions from last year as well as predict ten more trends I see as we enter 2024.

On Aug. 16, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). While the bill claims it will, “make a historic down payment on deficit reduction to fight inflation, invest in domestic energy production and manufacturing, and reduce carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030,” plumbing associations aren’t convinced the IRA will do much — if anything — to reduce inflation or benefit small businesses or the American consumer.

While both inflation and mortgage rate increases have impacted the segment, the overall annual forecast still represents a double-digit increase over 2021.

The FED has plans to raise these rates slowly throughout the year, but the last time Jerome Powell (current FED chairman) attempted this in 2018, he had to revert his course and lower rates once again. It is possible that Powell is forced to keep rates low again, even with high inflation.

As we contemplate the economy at the midpoint, we are still seeing some strengths and weaknesses.

ASA Chief Economist Chris Kuehl is back Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 2 p.m. Eastern/1 p.m. Central with his first ASA economic update webinar of the year, taking a look at the 2022 forecast.