No Glass Shortage Seen
A glass shortage does not appear to be on the horizon, according to representatives from several North American primary glass manufacturers. 

Fred Wallin, vice president of marketing for AFG Industries in Kingsport, Tenn., doesn’t believe there will be a glass shortage in the near future. “There is still a lot of demand in the market and I expect that demand will continue to grow at about a 2 percent rate,” he said. “With Cardinal’s new float glass capacity coming online this fall, overall demand for 2007 should be about the same as this year.

“The slowing of the market is due, in part, to a slowdown of housing starts and existing home sales,” he continued. A high level of new home inventory, currently 6.6 months, coupled with higher interest rates (forecast for 6.5 percent) in 2007 will continue to slow the market. Lower energy costs could put additional dollars in the hands of consumers that could mitigate the slide. However, the commercial market remains robust growing at about a 4 to 8 percent annually and I expect this to continue for the near term [next three years].”

“We have a good market, not a fabulous market, but historically one of the best in recent years,” Wallin added. “I get the sense that next year will be similar to this year, although it will be slower early in the year and finish stronger.”

Mauro DiFazio, director of sales and marketing for ACH Versalux Float Glass, agreed with Wallin and for many of the same reasons. 

“With the slow down in both the residential construction and automotive markets this affords an ample supply of product for future demand in these areas, as well as other segments of the market [commercial], which remain strong. In terms of the impact of other market factors such as energy costs and surcharges, I don’t see this having much impact on production or availability of glass now or in the foreseeable future.” 

Tom Kaiser, president of Cardinal IG in Eden Prairie, Minn., echoed those thoughts. “We are seeing a softening of housing starts and the automotive market is slow, so in certain areas one might see some extra glass available. With the opening of our fifth float line in Winlock, Wash., recently, Cardinal has taken steps to ensure that we have glass to support our national customer base,” he stated.

“With that said,” continued Kasier, “we will face some challenges if our market slows further and it will prove to be interesting from a float standpoint. Geographically, in some areas of the county, there could be concern about a glass shortage, but this is more related to the freight component than it is with an actual shortage of product. The reality is that the costs involved in transportation, lack of drivers, diesel surcharges and lack of backhaul, do and will factor into a producer’s willingness to transport product over far distances.”

Arch Opens Salt Lake City Operation
Arch Aluminum & Glass has opened a new 85,000-square-foot facility in Salt Lake City. The full-service operation will feature tempering, insulating, storefront, distributing, decorative and soft coat glass products.

“We are excited to offer the customer base in Salt Lake City an option to get all of their needs at one place,” commented president and CEO Leon Silverstein.

Longer Material Lead Times the Trend
A strong economy and high demand for architectural/commercial products has brought about longer lead times, according to representatives at suppliers. Fabricators are stretched to capacity in many areas of the country and are scrambling to keep up.
 
Chris Frye, customer service manager for independent glass fabricator J.E. Berkowitz, said it is his company’s goal to try to stay within a three- to four-week lead-time. “However, the increase in demand from our customers along with large, monumental projects that are currently underway, have stretched our insulating glass (IG) capacity,” explained Frye, who is based at the company’s Westville, N.J., office. 

“At this time, we are out about five to six weeks for the standard products and about six to eight weeks out with the high performing low-E or reflective glass, despite the fact that we have added additional capacity in anticipation of the peak season demands, including moving to 10-hour IG shifts and weekends,” he continued. “Although we are competitive, the lead times are longer than we (and our customers) would like but they are realistic and less than our leading competitors. We have been able to maintain market-leading service in other areas including monolithic tempered glass by running our three ovens around the clock, six days a week in order to provide a 24-hour to a four-day turnaround depending upon the thickness of the glass.” 

Craig Lusthoff, sales representative for Glass Professionals, an independent glass distributor based in Des Moines, Iowa, agreed. “Lead times have increased in our area as well,” he said. “What normally would be a five-day turnaround time for standard products now takes between 10 and 15 days. This is due to a very strong commercial market and an increase in large, time sensitive (i.e., secondary and post-secondary educational facilities) projects in our area. We are beyond capacity and are doing what we can to increase production and improve our efficiency to try to shorten these lead times.”

“It all depends on what material you are looking at,” pointed out Ronald Kudla, president of Innovative Glazing Systems Inc., a mid-size glazing company that furnishes and installs custom and standard glass walls in the greater Lansdale, Pa., area.

“We’re starting to see a longer lead time with aluminum as well as soft-coat glass,” he stated. “They [aluminum fabricators] have their presses going 24/7. When you wait more than eight weeks for your order it makes it very difficult work within the contractor’s schedule.” 

USG
© Copyright 2006 Key Communications Inc. All rights reserved.
No reproduction of any type without expressed written permission.