Monthly News & Updates

September 2021 | Issue 23

Hurricane Ida Makes Landfall as a Category 4 in South Louisiana

Hurricane Ida originated from a tropical wave moving into the Caribbean Sea. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) first monitored it moving northwest on August 23. The favorable conditions allowed the wave to grow into Tropical Depression Nine on August 26. Within a day, the depression intensified into a tropical storm earning the name Ida within 24 hours. Once entering the Gulf of Mexico, Tropical Depression Ida quickly reaching major hurricane intensity around 6 pm on August 28 due to very warm sea surface temperatures and storm favorable wind shear conditions. Before making landfall on the Louisiana coast on August 29, Hurricane Ida reached peak intensity with maximum sustained winds (1 minute) of 150 miles per hour. Ida is one of the most powerful storms to ever hit Louisiana, making landfall just one year and nine days after Hurricane Laura devastated the western side of the state, and hitting on the 16 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Due to Hurricane Ida's size and sustained intensity, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are all reporting severe and wide spread storm damage. Initial projections from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimate the total cost of insured damages to surpass $15 billion.

Recovery in the impacted areas will be ongoing for months (possibly even years). Our location in Gonzales, Louisiana has reported minimal damage, and is already preparing to open for business as soon as possible in an effort to supply the effected area with material to rebuild. Please check our website and Facebook pages for updates on our Gonzales location. Metal Mart is here after the storm passes for all your metal needs!

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by Hurricane Ida.

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The Annual Metal Mart Meeting was a MAJOR SUCCESS!

Quick Meeting Recap

Our Annual Metal Mart Manager's Meeting was postponed in February due to COVID concerns and rescheduled for August 26, 27 & 28. There was still plenty of concerns regarding COVID infection within a large group, so those in attendance were required to supply negative COVID results before departure, as well as re-testing during the meeting out of an abundance of caution. We felt that the information prepared for the meeting was important and (with precautions in place) worth holding the meeting.

There was an ample information including marketing updates, changes to our Point Of Sale systems, warranty importance, and severe weather preparation. Safety was a big point as well, not only for our stores and employees, but also in regards to our customers. The update and information we were all most eager to discuss was the difficulties that have arisen in our industry for the past 18 months. Extended lead-times, back-orders and price inflation have affected all of our stores, and unfortunately there has been more questions than answers regarding these topics.

The chart here shows raw steel production in the United States by week from 2019 to Mid-August 2021. This raw steel is what is used to produce the vast majority of our products including panels, trim, and substructural components. By following the red bars, it is obvious that production dropped dramatically after the first quarter in 2020, and as such, supply issues became common place across the steel industry. There are still plenty of transportation issues which will play a big role in material availability, but as far as supply, the steel industry has mostly recovered to match 2019 production numbers in just the past couple of months. There are still questions about price increases and accessory back-orders without many answers, but these numbers coming out of the steel industry is giving our managers and company leaders a renewed sense of optimism for the future.

Metal Mart | [metalmarts.co]