Episode 42 Skate Where the Puck Is Going: Housing, Labor, and AI in Building Products
From Hire Smarter™ with Tony Misura by Tony Misura
April 2, 2026 · 49 min · Season 1 · Episode 42
About this episode
Tony Misura and Chris Beard discuss the current state and future of the housing and building products industry amidst economic challenges.
The headlines are loud. The data tells a different story. In this episode of Hire Smarter, Tony Misura sits down with Chris Beard of John Burns Research and Consulting to cut through the economic noise and get to what's actually happening in housing and LBM. From starts and inventory levels to diesel costs, labor shortages, immigration's impact on the workforce, and AI's role in building products, Tony and Chris deliver a ground-level read on where the industry stands and where it's headed. Spoiler: it's not great, it's not terrible, and that might be exactly the stability your team needs to hear right now.
People in this episode
Host: Tony Misura
Guest: Chris Beard
Topics covered
- housing
- labor
- AI
- building products
- economic analysis
- industry trends
Keywords
- housing
- labor shortages
- AI
- building products
- economic trends
- diesel costs
- immigration
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: John Burns Research and Consulting
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