Materials demand steady

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Local building material suppliers have seen little or no effect on demand for home building products because of the sluggish economy.|ret||ret||tab|

"We have seen some slowdown in residential building, but not a significant amount," said David Harrison, owner and president of Glenstone Block Company.|ret||ret||tab|

Harrison said his customer base is made up largely of commercial builders. These projects are planned in advance and may not be affected by short-term fluctuation in the economy.|ret||ret||tab|

He said much of construction is influenced by weather, and it is hard to determine whether short-term downturns are weather- or economy-related.|ret||ret||tab|

Of special products, Harrison said, he has seen a marked increase in demand for block retaining walls. Many builders are using concrete block walls instead of rock or railroad ties.|ret||ret||tab|

Another factor Harrison has seen impact the bottom line last year was the levy of surcharges on fuel.|ret||ret||tab|

"Fuel prices have been a factor off and on, but we haven't passed the surcharges along to our customers," Harrison said.|ret||ret||tab|

Randy Hawkins, spokesman for Conco Companies agreed.|ret||ret||tab|

"We've had intermittent fuel surcharges of 3 to 3 1percent, but we haven't been able to pass them along to customers," he said.|ret||ret||tab|

Hawkins stated he has seen less decrease in residential building demand for concrete than in commercial. However, he added that reports indicate the number of residential units built has dropped in recent months.|ret||ret||tab|

Conco has experienced material price increases and wage increases in the last few months, but prices to customers have remained steady, Hawkins said. He does not anticipate a price increase to residential builders at this time.|ret||ret||tab|

However, Hawkins said that concrete stone has become harder to get. Even though Conco owns its own quarry, the company can't produce the raw product fast enough to meet present demand. With building of new highways and airports in the region that encompasses Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas, concrete prices could be affected by the third quarter of the year as demand increases. |ret||ret||tab|

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Brick and tile|ret||ret||tab|

David Martin, regional sales manager for Acme Brick, said his company saw a mild slowdown after the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, but the brick and tile market has been very active since that time.|ret||ret||tab|

"Only one builder cancelled an order after 9-11," he said.|ret||ret||tab|

Martin stated there was a slight price increase due to fuel prices last year, but prices have remained stable since then.|ret||ret||tab|

Acme has acquired two new brick plants in the last two years and demand is still heavy for Highland Grey, Oldtown and Charleston bricks, which the company has produced for some time. |ret||ret||tab|

Sales have been active in tile flooring as well, Martin said.|ret||ret||tab|

"Colors in tile follow the fashion industry, which changes rapidly," he said. "There have been more changes in the tile business in the last five years than in the previous 20." |ret||ret||tab|

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Lumber and roofing|ret||ret||tab|

Pricing in lumber has fluctuated some in the last several months, but business has still been good so far this year, according to Brian Welch, manager for Meek's Lumber Company at 3250 E. Sunshine St.|ret||ret||tab|

Last year, suppliers tacked on intermittent fuel surcharges, but it was not a big factor in prices.|ret||ret||tab|

"So far this year, we haven't been hit with any fuel surcharges," he said. "We haven't had to bump up lumber prices this year. They are the same as the end of last year."|ret||ret||tab|

However, due to the new duty levied on import lumber from Canada, prices may go up soon.|ret||ret||tab|

"We have buyers who purchase our lumber and a lot of it comes out of Canada," Welch said, noting that a lot of Canadian mills already have implemented an increase in reaction to the U.S. tariff. |ret||ret||tab|

Roofing and siding have taken recent price increases. Availability of roofing materials is often dictated by the amount of storms during a season. So far this year there has been no shortage in these materials, although prices still increased slightly, Welch said.|ret||ret||tab|

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