Shipments in this segment have gotten off to a slower start this year than is typically the case. The federal infrastructure bill was signed in November and as the winter wraps up, the delay in this federal money finding its way into the market is somewhat evident. Eventually, this is expected to kick off another round of construction spending despite the fact that the economy has slowed of late. This is not a bad or good thing it is a demonstration of how tough it is to jumpstart a spending program. Of course the other supply chain challenges are at work in this sector too. Workers are hard to find and retain, steel has recently been once again disrupted by the Russia/Ukraine war, and other materials are in short supply. Not to mention the fact that inflated costs are going to limit how far our tax dollars invested in the infrastructure program will go. That said, we remain positive as we see some signs of activity and expect that shipments will bounce back as summer approaches.
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