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Construction Sets $ Record

Despite a 790 setback in contracting for new construction in December, the total of newly started construction in 1983 reached a record $192.8 billion.

With $13.4 billion of new construction projects contracted in December, the seasonally adjusted Dodge Index declined to 134 from November's 145. The December rate was slightly below last year's strong 138 average. The Dodge Index uses 1977 as its 100 base.

According to George A. Christie, vice president and chief economist for F. W. Dodge, "Last year brought a long overdue recovery for the construction industry which, until recently, has been severely restrained by excessively high interest rates." He explained that three developments tell the story of the construction industry's recovery in 1983:

The decline of mortgage ratesfrom l79o in 1982 to 13 9o in 1983 -was all that was needed to liberate the housing market.

Last year's huge gain in homebuilding was responsible for almost all of the near-record 2390 gain in total construction contracting.

Negligible inflation in 1983 meant that nearly all of that 23Vo improvement was "real."

"December's 790 seasonally adjusted decline in construction contract value showed up, to some extent, in all three broad categories," Christie pointed out, "indicating that the month's unusually severe weather may have been a factor."

UPC Hardlines Use Survey

Universal Product Code usage has become widespread in the hardlines industry-but only recently, and most manufacturers using the UPC system do not use it fully.

An extensive survey has been done by the American Hardware Manufacturers Association as its contribution to a joint industry project with the National Wholesale Hardware Association and National Retail Hardware Association. The project goal is to develop information and guidelines that will assist manufacturers in the hardlines industry who wish to convert to Universal Product Code usage.

The AHMA surveyed its own membership, exhibitors at the National Hardware Show, and those at the International Housewares Exposition. The survey produced an excellent response.

Results will serve as a guide to the NWHA and NRHA in the formulation of surveys for their segments of the industrv.

A preliminary analysis revealed that @v/o of the total respondents are already registered with UPC. Of that total, 86.590 have gone beyond initial registration and have begun to use the system regularly, 52s/o of the companies on UPC made the conversion in the past three years, 26s/o of the total registered in 1983, 8490 have made or are making the conversion gradually rather than all at once. The median expense overall for conversion was $7846, average, $2500.

Sixty percent of UPC users indicated they were already using numeric numbering when they converted, while 3790 indicated they were using an alpha numeric system.

Primary uses for bar codes are on cards (59s/o o f ques tio ned respondents); labels (5490); and consumer boxes (5090). Only l09o of manufacturers responding to the question indicated they use them on hang tags, while only 790 use them on bagged goods. That same percentage uses them on ',vereh.onse i.ar+.!ns.

The survey revealed that most respondents use UPC on only a single kind of package. The use of bar codes on consumer boxes and on labels apparently gave manufacturers the most trouble, while questioned respondents were about evenly divided as to whether it cost the most to use them on consumer boxes, labels or cards.

There has been little use of the bar codes for greater warehouse efficiencies. Only l99o of questioned respondents indicated they now use them in this fashion. Another l39o indicated they plan to do so in the future.

There has been little use of bar codes by manufacturers on shipping labels, corrugated boxes, etc. as a means of improving warehousing and shipping efficiencies for them or their customers. Only l99o of questioned respondents indicateC they are using the codes in this fashion, while another l39o indicated they plan to do so in the future. Only 2.98/o indicated they are using the UPC system for their own internal efficiencies.

Piggyback Hauling Increases

Piggyback rail traffic continues to grow, recording a l99o rise in the first 45 weeks of 1983 after a 9.590 rate of growth in 1982.

Trucks have been gaining on railroads for freight hauling for years. Trucks carried less than 230/o of all truck and rail inter*ity freight in 1950. In 1982 the truck share was more than 3890.

Piggyback hauling is not reversing the trend, rail officials claim, just slowing it. Currently piggyback ship- ments are more than 120/o of all railroad carloadings, up 790 from 19781981, with most railroads expecting continued growth.

Piggybacking is most competitive over long distances on express rail routes. Piggyback trains often carry only piggyback cargo and travel to a single destination in order to be as fast as truck service. Deregulation and rail mergers creating a single system have aided piggybacking. Railroads are now able to bargain on rates and expand their own trucking operations.

Shippers have mostly benefited from the competition with better service and lower rates. To offset the poor profit margins on piggybacking, railroads have developed lighter flatcars and lightweight containers which can be stacked, increasing cost efficiencv.

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