Summary
The monthly Index further enforces what I said in our larger quarterly report, and alluded to in last month’s column in Rock Products. In both cases, I made the case for a bullish 2024 and beyond – and for the foreseeable future. This month’s metrics finally reflect that with a romping +2.4% increase in the Index in a single month, and +5.5% for the trailing 12 months.

And this month, we are adding an additional summary, which is the total gain in the Index for the last 36 months to reflect the direction of our industry – up a very robust +17.6% during the period, reflecting the strength of the market. Of considerable note is that every one of our twelve metrics that make up our algorithm were up, with only the exception of Industry Stock Market prices, which fell -.04% against the backdrop of profit-taking by investors after a walloping 44% for the trailing 12 months.