Different Year, Different Problems

I spent over 2 hours on the phone this morning simply trying to get someone at the Miami International Airport Hotel to send me a receipt for my stay there a couple of weeks ago. Now, I didn’t mean to stay there. Flights were changed/cancelled/delayed, and the next thing you know I’m looking for a place to stay in Miami with my wife and two of my kids.

A group from Wilson Lumber is supposed to fly to Guatemala this Sunday to go to our adopted village. Our flight to Atlanta has been cancelled, and we are trying to figure out how we are going to get there. These problems are common now.

At the same time, many of the articles from our industry are talking about a slow down in building and how the Fed is trying to guide us to a ‘soft landing’ so that there is not another recession. Labor and some materials are still hard to come by, even as demand may be trailing off a bit.

I don’t know. Different year, different problems. I’ll be honest, it can get a little difficult to remain optimistic. Is a recession coming? Well sure, eventually. The question is of course, how harsh will it be?

Those of us in building materials and home building know all too well how harsh it can be. Many of us still have scars from 2007.

However, there is a silver lining to this cloud. For example, I actually take a bit of solace in knowing the airlines are having as much trouble as we are finding enough people to employ. It makes me feel a little less alone. One thing we can be fairly certain of is that whenever the next recession comes, it won’t likely be as bad as 2007. (Famous last words, I know.)

We are still in the greatest industry in the coolest town in the greatest country. Be patient. Be thankful. We’ve made it through worse. We’ll make it through this.

Did you know that on our website we have a link at the top that says ‘Prayer Requests’? We’d be happy to pray for you or your company. If there is anything we can do to help whatever you’re facing right now, let us know.