Shipping Constraints and Price Increases Have Southern Aluminum Finishing Making Changes

"It's like shipping spaghetti." After years of freight damage, glass companies, such as Southern Aluminum Finishing (SAF), based in Atlanta, have had to make some changes to their inventory and shipping processes. Because of continuous freight damages and rising costs, SAF announced its decision to scale back on its deliveries of extrusions measuring longer than 19 feet. The company has extrusions that are 1/16 inches thick and 24 feet long, which he compares to shipping spaghetti. "Because … we're [more]

Glass and Glazing Activity Continues Turnaround

Architectural glass-related spending in nonresidential construction was higher in November compared to the same time a year ago. Spending increased by 1.3% year-over-year on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, according to Key Media & Research (KMR), a leading information provider to the glass industry. KMR's glass and glazing activity figures are adapted and modified from private and public construction spending data, with proprietary weighting and models applied to industry-relevant subsectors. "Spending" and "activity" are used interchangeably [more]

December PPI Numbers Remain Positive for Glass Industry

The seasonally unadjusted prices for materials used in glass and glazing manufacturing were positive in December and in year-over-year price changes, according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In December, the monthly PPI for flat glass in the commodity category was up 1.1% and 7.3% from December 2020. According to the BLS, the commodity classification “organizes products and services by similarity or material composition, regardless of the [more]

Glass and Glazing Companies Weigh in on Supreme Court Decision Regarding Vaccine Mandate

Some companies and organizations in the glass and fenestration industry may have breathed a collective sigh of relief yesterday when the Supreme Court ruled to block an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule mandating businesses with at least 100 employees require workers to be vaccinated or get tested weekly and wear a mask. Oliver Stepe, president, YKK AP America, says he believes in vaccinations to prevent COVID-19, but the challenges would have proved burdensome to [more]

Technicality Hurts California Glass Supplier’s Legal Case

After settling for $1.3 million out of court over allegedly defective glass, a California glass manufacturer's case isn't covered by its Liberty Mutual insurance policy, according to court documents filed December 2021. Sweig General Construction Inc. was a general contractor building a $20 million home in La Jolla, Calif. According to court documents, the design called for approximately 180 lites of large, heavy, specialized glass. Sweig subcontracted the glass package to Giroux Glass Inc., which purchased [more]

Andersen Invests in Transparent Solar Technology Developer

Andersen Corp. announced a strategic investment in Ubiquitous Energy, a developer of photovoltaic technology that converts light into electricity using semiconductor materials while maintaining visible transparency. Jay Lund, chairman and CEO of Andersen Corporation calls it “revolutionary and represents a new horizon for the fenestration industry.” Ubiquitous Energy’s UE Power™ technology is a patented and transparent photovoltaic glass coating that the company says harnesses solar power to generate electricity, while remaining almost indistinguishable from traditional windows. [more]

Experts Discuss Future of Supply Chain Landscape

With supply chain challenges not looking to end anytime soon, particularly as worker shortages continue, experts gathered online recently with some tips on how companies can find long-term solutions. However, labor isn’t the only issue. Robert Handfield, professor of supply chain management at North Carolina State University, said climate change, COVID, labor--all of these are hitting at once. “You only have to hit one node and the whole chain shuts down,” he said. Handfield said COVID opened [more]

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