This summer has gone by way too fast. It’s hard to believe that it is the 1^st of September already! The State Fair has come and gone and the kids are back in schools for another year.  It doesn’t seem possible.

    This season started out with us losing two great friends and employees. We lost Rod Smith and Steve Patterson in a matter of weeks. Both were sudden and a great loss to their families and us. We miss them.

    We are very fortunate to have capable people to step up when needed to fill a position when we lose someone for one reason or another. Mike McDonald and Sam Hesse are both doing fine jobs at Montezuma and Colfax, respectively. Also, as most of you know, Chris and Ken both have expanded territories and responsibilities. They are spending time this summer learning their new areas and meeting their new customers.

    I think most everyone has heard the dreaded words, “cement shortage”, already this year. Well, it’s here now. The middle of May a letter was sent to our concrete customers making them aware of possible shortages and price increases. At that time, we still hoped that we would not be affected. Now, a couple of months later, ready mix people are on allocation and prices are rising. The cement companies are taking an increase August 1^st, which has forced us to raise our prices on the same date.

    There are a couple of reasons for the shortage. One, is the shortage of ocean going vessels to transport imported cement from around the world. China is having such a construction boom that they have many of these vessels tied up delivering materials to them. There is cement available around the world, but no boats to get it here. Roughly 20% to 25% of our country’s cement consumption is imported cement.

    The second reason they give us is the fact that our cement demands are much higher with the construction boom here in the states. This, with a very mild winter last year did not allow the cement companies to get their storage filled for spring. This one is a little hard for me to buy, but I guess they should know more about it than I do.

    One company came in the first of May and asked if we could go somewhere else because they didn’t have cement for us. We were lucky enough to find another supplier that could take care of us and so far we have had no major problems. I keep my fingers crossed hoping the cement mills continue to run and we are kept in supply.

    We have a lot of work to be done and a lot of concrete to pour yet this season. It’s getting to be crunch time (that doesn’t mean time to crunch something up)! Pay attention to what’s around you and your equipment. It’s not the time to get in a hurry and be careless. Also, remember, school has begun! Be aware of the kids and buses.