Economy

Technology will help in the shortage economy – GCR

Published

3 years ago

March 11, 2022

The need for smarter construction through digital tools has now become essential (©GCR, illustration by Denis Carrier)

You can’t always get what you want, and sometimes you can’t even get what you need.

That has become the soundtrack of supply chains around the world and it’s set to continue for a while yet – creating a ‘shortage economy’.

With the global economy now structured by shortages, if construction firms want to survive they must manage the risk and instability of supply chains to avoid derailing their projects and their business. They also need to find a way to keep costs down across the rest of their operations to stop increased prices pushing them into the red.

It’s no mean feat, but construction has the capacity to evolve and adapt to this challenge. The need for smarter construction, through digital tools, was always there but it has now become essential to surviving and thriving in the shortage economy.

Managing supply chain risk

In the shortage economy, one big issue for construction firms is the fluctuation in delivery dates and the supply chain’s lack of predictability. Sudden shortages and last minute changes threaten to throw a project off course, causing costs to spiral. It’s therefore essential to create and maintain communication across a project’s supply chain to encourage visibility on delivery dates and instant notification of any changes. If project managers have real-time access to information, they can build an accurate project schedule, manage client expectations and adjust work if a supply problem delay arises. With so many moving parts, this can be achieved with a construction management platform that connects every member of a supply chain, making it easier to inform others of unexpected delays or shortage issues.

For building services specialists like HBS Group Southern, such technology has promoted information sharing across the supply chain, particularly for the high-volume house building clients HBS works with. Thanks to all data being live and accessible anytime and anywhere, HBS spends less time chasing the statuses of projects and more time focusing on the job at hand.

Countering shortages and controlling their impact

Efficiency is crucial in the context of the shortage economy. With price hikes and longer lead times increasing expenses and reducing profits, construction firms need to find a way to recoup costs elsewhere. They can do this by working as productively and efficiently as possible, so they aren’t wasting money and resources through sluggish or outdated processes.

Again, tech can help here. Digital collaboration tools allow teams to work more quickly and make administration tasks easier with ready made templates, fast-tracked invoicing processes and features to monitor tender progress and success. Not only do these tools help teams work more efficiently in the moment, they generate data that enable managers to identify any bottlenecks or problem areas that are affecting the business.

The shortage economy may have limited materials and labour but it doesn’t affect our ability to rethink and innovate. Embracing the right tools and updating processes allows firms to adapt to new economic conditions and manage the higher risks and costs created by the supply chain crisis. By increasing efficiency on a micro level, through smarter working, construction can help mitigate the inefficiency we’re experiencing at macro level.

Tom Noctor is Team Lead, Strategic Product Consultants at Procore

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Economy

Energy stocks help lift S&P/TSX composite, U.S. stock markets also up

Published

1 day ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was higher in late-morning trading, helped by strength in energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also moved up.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 34.91 points at 23,736.98.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 178.05 points at 41,800.13. The S&P 500 index was up 28.38 points at 5,661.47, while the Nasdaq composite was up 133.17 points at 17,725.30.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.56 cents US compared with 73.57 cents US on Monday.

The November crude oil contract was up 68 cents at US$69.70 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up three cents at US$2.40 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$7.80 at US$2,601.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.28 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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Economy

Canada’s inflation rate hits 2% target, reaches lowest level in more than three years

Published

1 day ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – Canada’s inflation rate fell to two per cent last month, finally hitting the Bank of Canada’s target after a tumultuous battle with skyrocketing price growth.

The annual inflation rate fell from 2.5 per cent in July to reach the lowest level since February 2021.

Statistics Canada’s consumer price index report on Tuesday attributed the slowdown in part to lower gasoline prices.

Clothing and footwear prices also decreased on a month-over-month basis, marking the first decline in the month of August since 1971 as retailers offered larger discounts to entice shoppers amid slowing demand.

The Bank of Canada’s preferred core measures of inflation, which strip out volatility in prices, also edged down in August.

The marked slowdown in price growth last month was steeper than the 2.1 per cent annual increase forecasters were expecting ahead of Tuesday’s release and will likely spark speculation of a larger interest rate cut next month from the Bank of Canada.

“Inflation remains unthreatening and the Bank of Canada should now focus on trying to stimulate the economy and halting the upward climb in the unemployment rate,” wrote CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham.

Benjamin Reitzes, managing director of Canadian rates and macro strategist at BMO, said Tuesday’s figures “tilt the scales” slightly in favour of more aggressive cuts, though he noted the Bank of Canada will have one more inflation reading before its October rate announcement.

“If we get another big downside surprise, calls for a 50 basis-point cut will only grow louder,” wrote Reitzes in a client note.

The central bank began rapidly hiking interest rates in March 2022 in response to runaway inflation, which peaked at a whopping 8.1 per cent that summer.

The central bank increased its key lending rate to five per cent and held it at that level until June 2024, when it delivered its first rate cut in four years.

A combination of recovered global supply chains and high interest rates have helped cool price growth in Canada and around the world.

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem recently signalled that the central bank is ready to increase the size of its interest rate cuts, if inflation or the economy slow by more than expected.

Its key lending rate currently stands at 4.25 per cent.

CIBC is forecasting the central bank will cut its key rate by two percentage points between now and the middle of next year.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is also expected on Wednesday to deliver its first interest rate cut in four years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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Economy

Federal money and sales taxes help pump up New Brunswick budget surplus

Published

2 days ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

FREDERICTON – New Brunswick‘s finance minister says the province recorded a surplus of $500.8 million for the fiscal year that ended in March.

Ernie Steeves says the amount — more than 10 times higher than the province’s original $40.3-million budget projection for the 2023-24 fiscal year — was largely the result of a strong economy and population growth.

The report of a big surplus comes as the province prepares for an election campaign, which will officially start on Thursday and end with a vote on Oct. 21.

Steeves says growth of the surplus was fed by revenue from the Harmonized Sales Tax and federal money, especially for health-care funding.

Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs has promised to reduce the HST by two percentage points to 13 per cent if the party is elected to govern next month.

Meanwhile, the province’s net debt, according to the audited consolidated financial statements, has dropped from $12.3 billion in 2022-23 to $11.8 billion in the most recent fiscal year.

Liberal critic René Legacy says having a stronger balance sheet does not eliminate issues in health care, housing and education.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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