Wednesday, Aug 11 1999 1:10AM ET
To: William H Hueb who wrote (23102)
From: Mephisto
If you need bricks, I believe my neighbors bought most of them.
Economic Boom Sparks Brick Shortage
LUTHERVILLE, Md. (AP) -- Water isn't the only thing that's scarce these days. Try finding a truckload
of bricks.
A strong economy and a push toward high-end building materials has factories throughout the region
working around the clock to supply contractors and landscapers with bricks.
The problem is severe: Orders placed last year have yet to be filled, and bricks that are still raw material
in the ground are already spoken for.
Factories in Pennsylvania and Ohio are rushing to alleviate the brick drought, which extends as far as
Texas, Florida and the Carolinas, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
``Bricks are worse than water right now,' said Glenn Kubany, sales manager at of Potomac Valley Brick and Supply Co.in Rockville. ``For all intents and purposes, this country is out of brick until next year.'
Nationally, the building boom is causing other shortages, too. Eighty-six percent of the builders who
responded to the June survey by the homebuilders' association say they have had difficulty getting drywall
and Sheetrock. Twenty-two percent said getting brick is difficult.
The problem, at least in part, was caused by the masonry industry itself, say manufacturers and suppliers.
Brick was falling out of favor with builders and homebuyers, who opted for less expensive materials such
as siding and faux stucco.
The industry fought back with an aggressive marketing campaign to make the residential segment of its
business more like its highly successful commercial side. Radio and TV spots touted brick as the upscale,
low-maintenance, energy-efficient siding of choice. The economy improved and homebuyers opted to
spend the extra money for brick.
Now buyers of new homes aren't asking for a brick-front house -- they want the whole thing wrapped in
brick. That
requires about 40,000 bricks, or an entire rail car load.
``It's a good problem to have, but by the time this is all over, we're probably going to lose people who
had to switch
materials,' said George Litz, owner of L&L Supply Corp. in Lutherville.
Litz, who supplied brick for Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the Baltimore Ravens' PSINet Stadium,
said the drought is
the worst he has seen in 30 years.
``We stock 5 million bricks, and pretty much all of it is sold,' he said.
At Glen-Gery Corp. in Reading, Pa., 10 brick plants are turning out 3 million bricks a day, but it's not
enough.
The same is true at Belden (NYSE:BWC - news) Brick Co., based in Canton, Ohio. Belden has nine
plants, including
Redland Brick Inc., in Williamsport, Md. The Redland plant, formerly known as Cushwa Brick, is
closed, its workers on
strike since early last month. ``That's throwing everybody in a tizzy,' said Betty Woerner of Maisel
Brothers Inc., a Glen Burnie materials provider.
On Monday, officials at the Williamsport plant began hiring replacements for the striking workers.
``Our backlog is three times higher than our inventory,' said President Robert Belden. ``This is a bubble
that's reaching the bursting point, and I don't see any relief.' |
