CENTER FOR EXHIBITION INDUSTRY RESEARCH (CEIR) ANNOUNCES 2020 FIRST QUARTER RESULTS

Event Cancellations and Postponements Due to COVID-19 Lead to Industry Decline

DALLAS, 5 June 2020 – The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) reports that growth of the exhibition industry plunged during the first quarter of 2020 as 72.6% of events originally scheduled for the second half of March were cancelled. The remaining 27.4% of events were postponed and some of those events may eventually be cancelled as well. As a result of many cancellations, the CEIR Total Index, a measure of exhibition industry performance, registered a record 15.1% decline from a year ago (see Figure 1), compared to a modest 0.3% year-over-year gain of inflation-adjusted GDP (see Figure 2). The latter had been somewhat buffered by continued opening of essential businesses and online purchases.

Link to full article:

https://www.ceir.org/news/ceir-announces-2020-first-quarter-results/

Blog Publisher’s comment:

I posted this because most reprographers do large-format display graphics color print work for firms and businesses involved in events, exhibitions, conventions, trade shows, conferences, etc.  CEIR tracks the Exhibition Industry.

Above, CEIR indicates that the “CEIR Total Index” for Q1 2020 was off 15.1% from Q1 2019.

Just speculating, but I do think it is highly likely that the “CEIR Total Index” for Q2 2020 will be off more than 65% from Q2 2019.

Construction Industry Economics Data from Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC)

ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator Inches Higher in May; Contractor Confidence Continues to Rebound

TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020 9:10 AM

WASHINGTON, June 9—Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator rose to 7.9 months in May, an increase of less than 0.1 months from April’s reading. Furthermore, based on an ABC member survey conducted May 20-June 3, results indicate that confidence among U.S. construction industry leaders continued to rebound from the historically low levels observed in the March survey.

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Construction Employment Sees Record Rebound in May, Says ABC

FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2020 10:57 AM

WASHINGTON, June 5—The construction industry added 464,000 net new jobs in May, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. May represented the largest monthly increase in construction jobs since the government began tracking employment in 1939, a drastic improvement from April, which recorded the industry’s largest month-over-month job loss.

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Fujifilm Customer Interviews Show Encouraging Print Service Industry Outlook

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Press release from the issuing company

Despite the Pandemic, Optimism Increases Over Return to Normal Business Conditions by Fall

Hanover Park, Ill. – FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Graphic Systems Division, announced results from qualitative interviews with more than 1,100 customers indicating an encouraging outlook for print service providers despite the recent COVID-19 impact on many commercial businesses.

Encouragingly, the highest number of responses (32%) projected a return to normal business conditions in the July/August 2020 time frame and 24% projected a return to normal business conditions in September/October 2020. Overall, a combined total of 72% of the customers expressed optimism about a return to normal business conditions by October. 

In regard to staffing, the highest number of respondents said staffing levels remained unchanged for 36% of respondents, while some accounts reported decreases of between 1% and 26%. Some respondents reported retention of staff and utilization of material cutting and sewing capabilities to successfully shift business priorities and produce personal protective equipment (PPE) to support COVID-19 response. A significant number of customers (54%) reported applying for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or operating loans.

Expanding the variety of production capabilities was key to business continuity plans for print service providers, as the reported production volume impact from COVID-19 was significant, with 83% of the respondents reporting declines in production volume up to 40% or more since the start of the pandemic. This statistic excludes businesses deemed essential during the shutdown, including news/print media, whose performance remained flat during this time.

Across segments, despite lower order intake in April, there has been a significant increase in demand for consumable products in May that correlate closely with states re-opening and an increased level of business activity across the country.

“The customer data points have provided us with quite a bit of insight into the market and the individual situations at each customer,” said Todd Zimmerman, division president, FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Graphic Systems Division. “This has helped us with our production planning to be sure we have inventory available as markets recover. We are as anxious as our customers for a return to more normal business conditions.”

Methodology behind the customer questionnaire:

FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Graphic Systems Division interviewed its print service provider customers from the commercial, sign and display, and packaging segments. Since many operations today serve more than one market, and do more than one type of printing, the customer interviews uncovered insights regarding each of the three market segments. The interviews were conducted between April 15 and May 15, 2020 with Fujifilm Graphic Systems customers across the United States. The majority of the interviews were conducted with companies that defined themselves as commercial printers followed by sign and display printers and packaging printers.

Interviews with customers were centered on four main topics:

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• Changes in production volume 
• Changes in staffing levels 
• Applications for government Paycheck Protection Program assistance or other operating loans 
• Projections regarding a return to normal business conditions

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Blog Publisher's comment:

I will be SHOCKED if business conditions are back to normal by October.

RSA Assists Main Street US Businesses in Partnership with Canon USA

In addition to providing businesses with COVID-19 signage through their 200+ outlets, the RSA announces its Printer Package Program (PPP) in conjunction with Canon USA.

Link:

https://www.printingnews.com/wide-format-signage/press-release/21137521/rsa-assists-main-street-us-businesses-in-partnership-with-canon-usa

Part of a bridge in Florida is closed for repairs after a large crack appeared underneath

A Florida bridge is at 'risk of an imminent collapse' after a large crack appears underneath

The Roosevelt Bridge in Stuart, Florida, is "at risk of an imminent collapse," the Coast Guard warned.

Officials have closed off the southbound lanes indefinitely. Northbound lanes have been split to accommodate southbound and northbound traffic. Commercial boating traffic has been halted.

The Roosevelt Bridge was built 24 years ago and spans the St. Lucie River.

COST: $83.7 million, 80 percent federal and 20 percent state and local.

DEDICATION: Saturday, Nov. 1, 1997.

DESIGNER: LoBuono, Armstrong and Associates, an architectural and structural engineering firm in Tallahassee, for the Florida Department of Transportation. Others involved: Figg Engineering of Tallahassee; Reynolds, Smith & Hills of Jacksonville, and Finley McNary Engineers of Tallahassee.

PRIME CONTRACTOR: Recchie America, Inc., now known as America-Condotte, an Italian firm, with U.S. offices in Miami.

RS&H was one of my former customers.  Great company, great people to do business with.

IMPRESSIVE GROWTH FOR KEVIN ROWE'S iPlanTables....

iPlanTables.com

Join our hundreds of other users New Clients

PPP Loan Forgiveness Webinar hosted by STMedia Group.

PPP Loan Forgiveness webinar – hosted by STMediaGroup - begins in two days.

Small Business Success: Preparing Your Company for PPP Loan Forgiveness

LIVE WEBCAST DATE:  May 26, 2020LIVE WEBCAST TIME:  02:00 PM EDT

Click on this link to register:

AEC/RE Virtual Pitchathon is scheduled for June 2-3, 2020

Organized by KP Reddy’s Shadow Ventures….

AEC/RE
Virtual Pitchathon

June 2 - 3, 2020

Date And Time

Tue, Jun 2, 2020, 10:00 AM –

To Wed, Jun 3, 2020, 4:00 PM EDT

We are hosting a marathon startup pitch competition for our built environment community. 60+ Seed - Series B startups will pitch over 2 days, all virtually hosted with thousands of built professionals and investors in attendance.

Buy Tickets

Times of great disruption create opportunity for innovation

 

About this Event

Business “as usual” has been disrupted. Traditional sales channels have been upended, investments in new technology are on hold, and innovation adoption stuck. What now? 

The Construction and Real Estate Pitchathon will be a Catalyst for innovation during a time of great disruption.

Join us to connect, learn, share, and build relationships to kickstart the new usual. We are bringing 60+ built world startup pitches together over 2 days. Startups will pitch potential customers and investors to connect, learn, share, and build relationships in order to kickstart the new normal during these turbulent times.

Why Join

·       60+ pitches from the built industry over 24 hours from seed-stage to series A

·       5 segments in the industry will be showcased including design, construction, property, infrastructure, and environment tech

·       100% virtual event

Company that buys, then exports, used reprographics equipment (Kingnote LLC)

https://www.kingnotecopiers.com

BOX shares tumble (also included, info about BOX for the Construction Industry)

Why Shares of Box Inc. Tumbled Today (BOX.com, NYSE: BOX)

What happened

Shares of enterprise cloud storage provider Box (NYSE:BOX) slumped on Thursday following a fourth-quarter report that mostly beat analyst estimates. The company's guidance, however, fell short of expectations, prompting a double-digit plunge in the stock price. The stock was down about 20% at 12:10 p.m. EST.

So what

Box reported fourth-quarter revenue of $136.7 million, up 24% year over year and in line with the average analyst estimate. Billings jumped 28% year over year to $204.6 million, while deferred revenue rose 33% to $320.9 million. Box's paying customer base reached 82,000 businesses in the fourth quarter.

Link to full article on Motley Fool:

https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/03/01/why-shares-of-box-inc-tumbled-today.aspx

About BOX for the Construction Industry:

Architecture, engineering and construction firms are using the cloud to improve mobile collaboration with clients, suppliers and agencies

Reduce onsite IT costs

Box for Construction gives architectural, engineering and construction firms a simple, secure way to plan, design and undertake projects. With Box, firms can intuitively share blueprints, photos and construction specs on any device, getting projects done on time and on budget

Better manage project bidding

Box streamlines the bid proposal process. Edit templates, share plans and specs and send secure links of request for proposals (RFPs) to ensure bids are submitted on time and with minimal effort.

Keep everyone on track

Provide architects, engineers and contractors visibility into project progress from any device. Upload, preview or comment on CAD/CAM files, BIM files and photos and send links to schedules and plans.

Improve job site productivity

Online or offline, Box simplifies coordination and troubleshooting for workers in the field. Snap photos and video of work sites or safety hazards and share securely using Box Capture.

Build mobile apps with cloud content

Create secure content lockers that improve collaboration between your firm and clients. Share designs and get client input in real-time.

Testimonial

"Any delay to the schedule is money. It used to take us 4 or 5 hours to get access to files with an FTP server in Sharepoint. With Box, it's seconds. Now all our construction teams are using Box on every project and it's changed the drive for us to do what we do, better and faster."

Vince Sarubbi, CIO and VP, Webcor Builders

https://www.box.com/industries/construction