The annual ASA-Supply House Times distributor roundtable, which takes place at NETWORK each year, has always been published in two parts as distributor members tackle topics from supply chain status and inventory management to government affairs and hiring.

Heading into 2023, experts remain optimistic about the health of the PHCP-PVF market despite a few impending factors: a possible recession, inflation, ongoing labor concerns, price increases and supply chain disruption.

As 2022 comes to a close it is now time to review my predictions from last year as well as predict ten more trends I see as we enter 2023. Just like last year, I will stay away from prognosticating about where the stock market will be at this end of the year; instead, I will stick to identifying trends that supply houses will find important in this upcoming year. With all that being said, let's jump right in and review my 2022 predictions.

On Aug. 16, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). While the bill claims it will, “make a historic down payment on deficit reduction to fight inflation, invest in domestic energy production and manufacturing, and reduce carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030,” plumbing associations aren’t convinced the IRA will do much — if anything — to reduce inflation or benefit small businesses or the American consumer.

According to a few industry experts, the sector is experiencing enough demand to say the market is in decent shape overall. Better yet, there are technology advancements happening to help provide relief from labor shortages.