It's not certain that we'll see in coming weeks a cease-fire and ultimately the end of the war in Iran. But you can be certain that the list prices for a wide range of building materials are going to go up this spring, particularly when the product involved is made at least partly from petroleum. One thing dealers can expect, however, is that higher prices will make their revenues look better than they had forecast back in pre-war days. On the other hand, the cost of goods s

Trajekt pitching machines help batters prepare for who they'll see in the game. By Craig Webb Two years ago, the Washington Nationals' general manager put up a sign during spring training that declared: "I don't care how fast you throw ball four." The Nats finished 71-91, the sixth-worst record in Major League Baseball. A year later, the sign was gone but the problems remained. The Nationals slumped to 66-96, the majors' third-worst record. Now the general manager and coachin

A total of 116 people have been promoted, hired, or changed jobs at 81 LBM-related firms since mid-March.

The contents of this spring's M&A map for construction supply matter as much for what the purchases represent as they do for what was bought. The completion of QXO's acquisition of Kodiak Building Partners puts it deep into lumber, components, windows and doors, and steel. Meanwhile, SRS Distribution's purchase of Mingledorff's puts The Home Depot subsidiary into HVAC for the first time.

QXO logo with Chairman and CEO Brad Jacobs "I like running publicly traded companies," QXO Chairman and CEO Brad Jacobs writes in How to Make a Few More Billion Dollars . "Being public makes it easier to build something big and lasting, at least for me. It gives me deep access to capital markets on non-onerous terms." His latest financial move shows how. On April 1--the same day it completed its acquisition of Kodiak Building Partners --QXO filed with the Securities and E

Attendees at Nation's Best's 2025 Women's Leadership Retreat. (Nation's Best photo) By Craig Webb A new lawsuit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the organizer of a soft-drink company's all-woman retreat could lead construction supply dealers to alter how they put on their own events. The lawsuit also raises concerns about the future of these increasingly popular events. EEOC's suit against a Coca-Cola distributor alleges the company's late 2024

By Craig Webb Like many stories, this one started with a rumor: Builders FirstSource was closing two stores in Iowa, a dealer told me. Digging into that story revealed a much bigger tale involving how actively America's biggest full-service lumberyard has been shedding some underperforming locations (some it might never have wanted) while upgrading and consolidating other yards and revamping itself to get through sluggish times. While BFS has touted its 19 locations acquired

DEALERS ABC Supply -- Dan Wood -- Executive Director of Exterior Products Big C Lumber -- Shawn Demarest -- OSR Bliffert Lumber -- Joseph Johnston -- Director of Procurement Bomgaars Supply -- Dustin Wenham -- VP of Strategy & Inventory Builders FirstSource -- Andy Parker -- General Manager -- Boise, ID Builders FirstSource -- Craig Kuhnle -- Senior Buyer, Commodity Wood Products, SPF Lumber Busy Beaver Building Centers -- Adam Gunnett -- VP of Business Intelligence and Strat

By Craig Webb Competition alert: The big boxes are planning to open more than a dozen new stores in 2026 on top of what their subsidiaries are opening--and buying. The Home Depot shared this week the map above showing the dozen locations where it plans to grow in the U.S. this year. It's a remarkable development given how little its U.S. store count grew earlier this decade. It also plans to open a new store this spring in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. And the many arms o

LBM dealers from across the country met today with members of Congress and their staffers to break banks' stranglehold on credit card processing fees, create targeted federal tax credits for single-family homes, and expand workforce development and skilled trades training.

Combine millions of data points from more than 9,000 sources with instant visualizing technology and what have you got? Retail Pulse: A new, better, and more accurate way for Do it Best members to improve their operations.

While many U.S. construction supply and home center dealers hesitate over installing self-checkout options, a big DIY center has opened in Japan with a side store featuring a round-the-clock, cashier-less format.

Commentary by Craig Webb QXO’s acquisition of Kodiak Building Partners is raising lots of concerns across LBM. Vendors, buying groups, industry leaders, executive recruiters, and potential acquisition targets all are wondering about the impact on them as Chairman and CEO Brad Jacobs keeps pushing to grow QXO into a $50 billion company by 2030. The $2.25 billion purchase of Kodiak’s 110 locations and 5,500 employees in 26 states (particularly Florida and Texas, source of 40

By Craig Webb Billy Bastek, Merchandising EVP, The Home Depot Uncertainty and affordability are making it tough today for people to spend on new homes and remodeling, but the buildup in home equity should provide the fuel to power future growth once lending rates decline, The Home Depot's Executive Vice President for Merchandising says. Billy Bastek told several hundred people gathered Feb. 18 for the annual Storehouse Project breakfast in Orlando, FL, that "the industry is

Builders FirstSource's 2026 outlook, presented to analysts with its 2025 4Q and full-year financial report By Craig Webb Builders FirstSource's   report that its fourth-quarter net income plummeted 83% from the year-earlier period adds to a series of recent economic reports that point to more hard times ahead for dealers. Analysts had expected BFS to accumulate $336 million worth of adjusted EBITDA in the final three months of 2025. Instead, the nation's biggest full-service

DEALERS 84 Lumber — Dave Rumbaugh — VP of Purchasing 84 Lumber — Dan Tumilty — Area Manager ABC Supply — Karl Hager — Branch Manager ABC Supply — Blake Roach — OSR Aubuchon Co. — Adam Ranslow — Paint Associate and Retail Sales Big C Lumber — Kurt Gibson — Window and Door Shop General Manager Big C Lumber — Courtney Kaptur — General Manager — Three Oaks, MI Big C Lumber — Danny Moser — Operations Manager — Elkhart, IN Big C Lumber — Ted Zebell — VP of Operations DEALERS Builde

Construction supply facilities acquired (blue pins), newly opened (green), or closed (red) YTD 2026. Source: Webb Analytics Impressive as QXO's purchase of Kodiak Building Partners may be, it shouldn't blot out mention of 11 other acquisitions in construction supply over the first six weeks of 2026. Of those others, the biggest by far was White Cap Construction Supply' s purchase of Colony Hardware , a tool specialist with 58 locations. White Cap is regarded by some observe

By Craig Webb QXO announced Feb. 11 it will purchase Kodiak Building Partners  from Court Square Capital Partners  for about $2.25 billion. Kodiak generated about $2.4 billion in revenue and $211 million in EBITDA in 2025, putting the multiple at about 10.7x EBITDA and 0.95x sales. The deal includes 110 locations across 26 states with roughly 5,500 employees serving more than 10,000 customers, a QXO spokesman said. It excludes Kodiak Interiors Group ,  which Kodiak Building

Electronic shelf labels increasingly are popular at hardware stores. By Craig Webb Three hardware store tech leaders Feb. 4 put electronic shelf labels (ESLs), delivery services, and online and operational advances high on their lists of planned improvements this year. But they also stressed that the most important item on their lists was to actually do something. "You've gotta keep forging ahead and never settle," said Scott Jerousek, CEO of Wellington, OH-based Farm and Hom

Matt Leiser of Cleveland Research shows Orgill market attendees on Feb. 5 what The Home Depot and Lowe's are doing this year. (Craig Webb photo) By Craig Webb Conflicting trends are likely to make this a "flattish" year for hardware stores and home centers, Cleveland Research Co.'s partner for home improvement told Orgill customers Feb. 5 at the distributor's 2026 Dealer Market. Matt Leiser also urged dealers to pay attention to how The Home Depot and Lowe's are tweaking t