The U.S. building materials industry is in one of the most exciting times in its history – and, as a result, is facing an interesting dichotomy.
The sectors that feed its success (construction, design/build, civil engineering) are becoming healthier and healthier, but, at the same time, what this growth is demanding from building materials is causing manufacturers to re-think not only what they produce, but their operations overall.
Of course, within new demands are always the very keys to next-era success for any industry.
So, what are the drivers influencing the building materials industry today and, if predictions are correct, that will be impacting it well into the future?
Here’s a short list of what building materials manufacturers must be able to respond to in order to arrive on the right side of next-era success:
- The need to be green: The demand for building materials to meet a wide range of “green” regulation.
- The desire to be even greener: The trend of providing sustainability solutions beyond simply what’s required in order to better manage the intersection of the built and natural worlds. In other words, the triple bottom line philosophy is finally becoming real, requiring mass vertical innovation – from materials and design to architecture and construction.
- The end of local: Increased pressure from global competition – not only from global materials suppliers selling in the U.S., but from foreign entities building on U.S. soil.
- The logistical nightmare: The growing list of challenges related to efficiency and cost effectiveness in the supply chain.
Following is our round up on the opportunities open to and challenges facing the building materials Industry:
The Future of Green Building is Bright in 2014: New Top 10 Mega Trends This is the trends report published annually by one of the leading green building and sustainability consultants, Jerry Yudelson of Yudelson Associates.
10 Green Building Trends for 2014 The focus of this article is on overarching sustainability issues impacting the building materials industry.
Materials of the Future: 7 Amazing Trends for 2014 This article focuses on innovation in materials.
We hope you enjoyed our industry insights round up on the building materials industry and we look forward to hearing your thoughts. You can share your perspective and ideas in a comment below.
Don’t forget that in preparation for the 4th quarter and 2015, we’re scheduling highly focused, one-on-one conversations with our community members who want to take advantage of an outside perspective in planning next steps for their company. To schedule this conversation with EFI Group, email Jim Solich at jsolich@jims26.sg-host.com
