UPA Online: We Deliver High Performance

Watts, Fluidmaster, Insinkerator, Broan, Nutone and QC (Quality Certified Products) are some of the premier lines that occupy the UPA Warehouse. Many more companies are slated for an inventory position in 2007. A vast majority of the UPA members are now taking advantage of the opportunity that the UPA central distribution center is providing. We expect another record year in 2007 as we have met a growing need within our group to provide key products with no minimum order quantities at competitive pricing.

UPA final numbers for 2006 indicate a 26% growth in dollar terms for the UPA group. The comparison does not take into effect the growth of the group in terms of new membership. The 26% growth compared the exact same members in 2005 to the exact same members in 2006. While this growth does take into account the addition of new manufacturers the largest growth rate was a direct result of members continuing to switch to UPA vendor sources. A direct result of the expanded services that UPA provides is a significant reason why our member’s support continues to grow.

Record copper prices pound the market (again). In November of 2006, copper prices averaged $3.26 per pound, according to Metals Week. That's up more than one dollar per pound from last year at this time and up $1.77 per pound from December 2004. These prices are astronomically high in a market that historically fluctuates in the 80 cents per pound to $1.20 per pound range.

John Mothersole, principal of industry practices, Global Insight, Waltham, Mass., follows the fluctuations in building materials costs closer than anyone. Mothersole says over the past year he has gotten more questions about the cost of copper than any other building material. At the 2007 McGraw-Hill Construction Forecast, held in Washington D.C., in late October, he said the fundamentals of supply and demand are stabilizing in the copper market. While he wouldn’t rule out more increases for this pricey metal in 2007, he does expect any increase to be less dramatic than those we’ve seen in the last two years.