Posted by TED Magazine
on 12/26/2009
EMCOR stock's price was just below $20 in March 2000, and it's now under $28. Sounds mediocre? Stock splits in the past decade mean an owner of 100 shares from 2000 now owns 400 shares! More about how investments in the electrical industry look, in the rear-view mirror, vs. the Dow and S&P 500.
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Posted by TED Magazine
on 12/26/2009
Back in March 2000, a TEDMAG columnist asked for $2.7 billion to invest in 5 electrical industry companies (all had stock traded on exchanges). Two of them have disappeared, bankrupt, in the ensuing years. The 10-year period has featured stock market returns that were just awful. How did our hypothetical investment work out, then?... read more
Posted by Joe Salimando
on 12/18/2009
If you're read the previous Special Report blogs on electrician productivity and the role that electrical distributors (and manufacturers) can play in helping to increase it -- as the workforce ages -- you'll want to see this one. It's a "summary" with links to even more information and ideas on the subject. If you missed the previous blogs, well -- this one will help you catch all the way up!
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Posted by Joe Salimando
on 12/16/2009
A look at pre-fab. Contractors should do it. Some do, some don't. Is there a role here for the electrical distributor? You betcha!
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Posted by Joe Salimando
on 12/16/2009
Material handling is what you do, and you do it very well. But when someone other than an electrical distributor handles electrical material at a jobsite -- say, a contractor's people -- the expense is ridiculous and the risk can become intolerable (including worker injuries). Can you solve this? With your expertise, that's a certainty. And: Can you get paid for such assistance?
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Posted by Joe Salimando
on 12/15/2009
If the world of construction electricians is likely to consist of older men and women, they are likely to experience more strains and pulls -- more injuries -- in the future. Can an electrical distributor help to minimize that? The answer is undoubtedly YES . . . but the next question is: Will you be paid for that help?
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Posted by Joe Salimando
on 12/8/2009
Training more young people to become the journeyman of the future is an obvious solution to the possibility that jobsites of the two-oh-teens are swamped with old, damaged electricians. Like all simple solutions, this one won't work and, in fact, it isn't working right this very minute.
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Posted by TED Magazine
on 12/8/2009
How many electrical workers does the U.S. need? Right now, it seems to have more than enough. What's more, many working in the field are growing older faster (aging past what used to be the normal retirement point).
What does an older workforce mean for the nation's electrical contractors -- and for the people who supply them?... read more
Posted by TED Magazine
on 12/7/2009
Perhaps the November unemployment numbers had you dancing on your desk and considering throwing caution to the wind. A selection of commentators -- who looked at the same data the enthusiasts did, and came away with cautionary facts -- might help you put the whole thing in perspective.
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Posted by TED Magazine
on 12/7/2009
Employment in electrical contracting is down 17.2% in the past two years. That actually TOPS the decline from 11/07 to 11/09 in the construction industry, according to the recent report. Read on for more data of interest, including what's happening in electrical distribution.
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Posted by TED Magazine
on 12/2/2009
A search for good news on the construction spending front actually FOUND some! Did you know that the total of Manufacturing construction $ is up 125% in the first 10 months of 2009 vs. the same period in 2006? More numbers to look at, celebrate -- or lament -- are included in this look at the government's October report.
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Posted by TED Magazine
on 12/1/2009
The price of a pound of copper has moved in 12 months from a 12/08 low of $1.25 to $3.20 in the past few days. Why? Don't say China . . . OK. We said it. Now what?
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