b'PRESIDENTS MESSAGEthe impact of material input cost volatility is every bit as disruptive to a contractor as the pandemic itself. In some cases, it is worse.Economists look at the big picture and, as a consequence, sometimes miss what is going on in the weeds. They see non-residential volumes slowly declining and argue that non-res inflation dropped to 2.5 per cent in 2020 after seven years above four per cent, so they are less inclined to see current construction cost inflation as a crisis. In fact, some economists still believe contractors can absorb higher input costs and simply operate with diminished margins, but the number of insolvencies in the sector says otherwise.They also predict more sector stability in the coming year for both residential and non-residential but sometimes underestimate the impact of last years disrupted projects which are included in the mix. Similarly, the contractor who submitted a fixed price bid in mid-2020 but did not actually buy materials until early 2021 eats approximately 13 per cent before they account for delayed deliveries, higher material handling costs, higher PPE costs and a mountain of pandemic-related labour issues that inevitably impact productivity and, by extension, prices.And for the average small contractor, last years disrupted projects account for a very high percentage of their go-forward book of business, which hardly bodes well for market stability. What it comes down to from where I sit is this. Disruption on a scale this big has a more profound impact than any of us initially imagined and some of the impacts are intangible. Who among us will sleep after committing to a lump sum bid for the foreseeable future? And market stability is not always synonymous with low inflation. For the record, I do not see an end to construction Benson Steel is fabricating the structuralmaterial inflation any time soon. I also see a disruption cost carried forward that I believe will steel for the Rosehill Tower in Toronto,impact us longer and more severely than the more with Girder Slab technology. bullish forecast from most economists. I do, however, see a bright light at the end of the We are thrilledtunnel as contractors and their clients learn to to welcomebetter communicate and work collaboratively on all forms of contract. That collaborative culture, COMPOSITE STEEL AND PRECAST SYSTEM GirderSlabassuming that it lasts, is the silver lining we havetechnologies into the Benson Family.been waiting for and, with a little luck, it will be worth the wait.INNOVATION Respectfully,bensonsteel.comJohn Mollenhauer TCA President & CEO8Quarter 22021 BUILDERSDIGEST'