The last recession isn’t over yet, at least as far as the glass products are concerned.
Glass manufacturers, which shut 11 of 47 float-glass North American plants between 2007 and 2014, are now playing catch-up with demand from commercial builders whose business is robust. The Wall Street Journal reports that glass prices have risen by more than 30% over the past 18 months. Construction projects are being delayed because they can’t get the glass they need, especially for curtain wall, the metal-framed glass panels that have become popular design components for skyscrapers, airport terminals, hotels, and many other nonresidential buildings.
“The glass guys are dictating the timetables of a project to us,” Ralph Esposito, who oversees Lend Lease’s commercial construction in New York, tells the Journal. AvalonBay Communities have seen glass prices rise by 35% to 45% from 2013, and expects this supply-and-demand dilemma to persist through early 2016, says Scott Kinter, its Senior Vice President in Boston.
The Producer Price Index for the broad category “flat glass” in July 2015 stood at 126.6, up 5% from July 2014. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not adjust this category for seasonality.
Shortages have become so severe that The Related Cos., one of the country’s biggest developers, recently joined forces with M. Cohen & Sons, a specialty metal manufacturer, to open its own glass factory, called New Hudson Façades, in Linwood, Pa. The Journal quotes Bruce Beal, Related’s president, as stating that his firm needs more than 3,000 glass panels for one skyscraper it’s building on Manhattan’s West Side alone.
Demand and price increases for glass aren’t confined to North America, either. Saint-Gobain, one of the world’s leading glass producers, reported a 9.8% increase in flat glass sales, to 2.633 billion Euros (US$2.9 billion), for the first half of 2015, during which the company’s operating income for that category rose 48.1% to 194 million Euros.
Perhaps ironically, last April the Journal also reported how several cities across the country were pulling back on their glass-recycling programs because glass had become too difficult and expensive to handle.
Related Stories
Glass and Glazing | Jan 6, 2023
Vitro Architectural Glass announces new names for three Solarban Glass Products
Vitro Architectural Glass (formerly PPG Glass) announced that it will be renaming three of its signature Solarban® solar control, low-emissivity (low-e) glass products at the beginning of 2023. While the products will have new names, the performance and visual characteristics of all three glasses will remain the same.
Office Buildings | Dec 6, 2022
‘Chicago’s healthiest office tower’ achieves LEED Gold, WELL Platinum, and WiredScore Platinum
Goettsch Partners (GP) recently completed 320 South Canal, billed as “Chicago’s healthiest office tower,” according to the architecture firm. Located across the street from Chicago Union Station and close to major expressways, the 51-story tower totals 1,740,000 sf. It includes a conference center, fitness center, restaurant, to-go market, branch bank, and a cocktail lounge in an adjacent structure, as well as parking for 324 cars/electric vehicles and 114 bicycles.
75 Top Building Products | Nov 30, 2022
75 top building products for 2022
Each year, the Building Design+Construction editorial team evaluates the vast universe of new and updated products, materials, and systems for the U.S. building design and construction market. The best-of-the-best products make up our annual 75 Top Products report.
Building Materials | Nov 2, 2022
Design for Freedom: Ending slavery and child labor in the global building materials sector
Sharon Prince, Founder and CEO of Grace Farms and Design for Freedom, discusses DFF's report on slavery and enforced child labor in building products and materials.
Building Materials | Aug 3, 2022
Shawmut CEO Les Hiscoe on coping with a shaky supply chain in construction
BD+C's John Caulfield interviews Les Hiscoe, CEO of Shawmut Design and Construction, about how his firm keeps projects on schedule and budget in the face of shortages, delays, and price volatility.
Building Materials | Jun 20, 2022
Early-stage procurement: The next evolution of the construction supply chain
Austin Commercial’s Jason Earnhardt explains why supply chain issues for the construction industry are not going to go away and how developers and owners can get ahead of project roadblocks.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | May 3, 2022
For glass openings, how big is too big?
Advances in glazing materials and glass building systems offer a seemingly unlimited horizon for not only glass performance, but also for the size and extent of these light, transparent forms. Both for enclosures and for indoor environments, novel products and assemblies allow for more glass and less opaque structure—often in places that previously limited their use.
Sponsored | Glass and Glazing | Oct 27, 2021
Treating Glass as a Canvas
In the world of fine art, a master painter begins with canvas selection. A linen canvas is nearly always selected over cotton because nothing delivers the artist’s authentic vision quite like linen. Similarly, with glass.
Sponsored | Glass and Glazing | Oct 27, 2021
True Clarity for Ambitious Design
Clear glass is extremely common and is popular for a variety of architectural design applications, including vision glass, spandrel glass, storefronts, entryways and other exterior uses. It is specified repeatedly due to its versatility and ability to serve as a substrate for solar control, low-emissivity (low-E) coatings. However, when specifying glass to achieve a desired aesthetic, design professionals know that clear glass isn’t completely clear.
Cladding and Facade Systems | Oct 26, 2021
14 projects recognized by DOE for high-performance building envelope design
The inaugural class of DOE’s Better Buildings Building Envelope Campaign includes a medical office building that uses hybrid vacuum-insulated glass and a net-zero concrete-and-timber community center.
