Raw Materials

There are several different components of additive manufacturing, each of which must be developed and refined before the process can be successfully used in large-scale construction.

The Supreme Court recently handed down a decision that gives public-sector employees the choice to not pay dues to the union that represents them in contract negotiations.

When using steel, the savings made from reduced on-site labor and waste brings a greater cost-efficiency to the overall project. Here’s five projects from Melbourne, Australia, using SBS Group cold formed steel solutions to replace wood framed structures:

The internet doesn’t carry goods, only more and more orders for them. Self-driving trucks are a long way off. In the meantime, somebody has to haul freight and make deliveries.

The volume of steel used to manufacture cold-formed steel (CFS) framing products ticked up 3.7 percent in the first quarter of 2018, according to the latest Nonresidential Market Volume Report released by the Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA).

Interim Forest Service Chief Victoria Christiansen told Congress recently that the Forest Service expects its 2018 timber harvest will be the biggest in 20 years.

Lumber production rose 11.4% from February to 5,897.7 thousand cubic metres (2.5 billion board feet) of lumber in March. Production was 5.2% lower than in March 2017.

As lumber costs remain at historically high levels, lumber companies are investing those profits into strengthening their positions and increasing production capacity.  

In a recent presentation, Frank Turnbull of Mercer Timber Products discussed his company’s German imports to the US, tying the work of his company into a discussion of the opportunity for European lumber imports to compete in U.S. markets.

Now into the second quarter of 2018 and raw material costs continue to hold steady at their increases or are trending upward again. Add transportation to the mix and the ability to manufacturer and sell products is more than challenging.