As a nation some will say we have had economic growth the past few years and others will say we haven’t. Personally I think we have seen economic growth in specific regions around the United States and with that came a decrease in prices of steel-based products. Here comes the bad news for contractors, distributors and the whole supply value chain, according to www.IBISWORLD.com we are set to see an increase in costs over the next few years. Will this hurt the construction industry or help it? Maybe the better question is how do you battle this sort of problem? I know what I would do and it is simple economics. Manufacturers will need to increase supply to cut costs in hopes that demand will increase. As an industry some of our manufacturers, and distributors should look to the education side. Just think about how many contractors won’t work with metal. Why don’t they work with metal you ask? Well, from what I hear it’s a few different obstacles, cost, time, and education. Education is the pain point I hear the most – maybe it’s time we started educating these contractors, design and build professionals on the benefits of metal and how it can grow their business. Ask yourself and tell us what are you doing to help them. If you are a contractor or a design and build professional let us know what would help you.