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Thomas News Highlights

News Highlight

Austin Business Journal: Building A Home? Good Luck With That

Shawn Fitzgerald, president of Thomas, said the causes for the current high prices and long wait times are compounding on each other. "We're dealing with supply chain challenges out of Covid, and now we have this massive backlog that we can't get the stuff for," Fitzgerald said. "Even as you're getting the materials the backlog continues to grow, because there's more demand on the front end because of the shift to remote work and people's desire for new homes."

According to Thomas, demand for cement was up 181% year over year as of late December. For external doors, 162%; for sliding doors 126%. Demand for wooden windows was up 114%. Critical components such as lumber and plywood, which make up a massive portion of traditional homes, have also seen persistently high demand, each up around 40% year over year. 

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News Highlight

Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing: Employers play big role in solving labor shortage

Offering apprenticeships and collaborating with other manufacturing companies are among the ways employers can help grow a pool of workers with the right skills.

“In the industrial sector, there are no longer white-collar versus blue-collar jobs, but instead, new-collar jobs that don’t require working in a dark, outdated factory, but rather a high-tech factory floor utilizing new technologies including AI [artificial intelligence], factory automation and machine learning. This generation’s manufacturing industry is clean, safe, and modern,” said Tony Uphoff, the president and CEO of Thomas, the parent company of Thomasnet.com, a leading platform for product sourcing and supplier selection for industrial and manufacturing companies. 

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