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Check out the ways in which these companies are getting involved, making changes and learn how you can too.

You don’t have to wait for the phone to ring. Even when your shelves are turning fast and trucks are rolling nonstop, there’s untapped gold in your existing relationships. Distributors can reach out to accounts that haven’t ordered in a while or offer proactive inventory planning for contractors gearing up for year-end projects.

The warehousing industry faces a significant labor issue, accounting for 50% to 70% of total budgets, as noted by a Bostontec study. Manual order picking is a major expense, comprising around half of warehouse operating costs. Factors such as rising hiring costs, a shrinking labor pool, and the demanding nature of the work contribute to this problem. In 2023, the industry reported 4.7 nonfatal injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers (BLS).

As 2025 comes to a close, it’s time for me to review my predictions from last year and predict ten more trends for 2026. Just like last year, I will avoid predicting where the stock market will be at the end of 2026; instead, I will stick to identifying trends that supply houses will find important in the upcoming year. My scorecard shows I got 7.25 out of 12 right. With all of that, let's jump in and review my 2025 predictions.

In this space, your brand isn’t your logo — it’s your people. It’s how your reps walk into a meeting. How your project manager answers a callback. How your techs wrap up a jobsite and drive away. It’s what customers and partners say about you when you’re not in the room.

According to university officials, the underground heating loop which supplies heat and domestic hot water to large portions of campus, developed a significant leak that was initially losing roughly 6,000 gallons of water per day. As temperatures dropped, pressure in the system rose, and the loss rate increased, raising the risk of widespread system failure. University leadership determined that delaying repairs until the end of the semester was no longer safe.

His 49 years of service place him among the most tenured employees in Cooney Brothers’ 88-year history, and the impact of his kindness, leadership, and connection will be felt for years to come.

Attracting women is only half the battle, retaining them is also a challenge. Many women leave the trades not because of the work itself, but because of a lack of support or growth opportunities. 

At United Pipe & Steel, where Slattery spent many years serving customers across the country, his influence was profound. Colleagues describe him as someone with encyclopedic knowledge of the steel pipe business and a passion for teaching others.

Nearly three in four ASA members say their companies are already experimenting with AI, while 38 percent report they are exploring use cases, while 34 percent are piloting one or more AI tools.