Quikrete Industry Dashboard

The December housing starts update remains missing, thanks to last month’s temporary government shutdown. But at least now we know when to expect it. The U.S. Census Bureau this week (Feb. 6) unveiled a new 2019 economic indicator release schedule, including two missing Dashboard metrics. Delayed new-residential-construction numbers will now be released Feb. 26. (They were originally scheduled for Jan. 17) Also, advance monthly retail sales will be released Feb. 14. (They were originally scheduled for Jan. 16.)

Elsewhere on the dashboard, the average price of a gallon of regular gas on Feb. 7 was $2.28, up almost a nickel compared to the previous month. And all 10 hardware and building supply stocks are showing month over month improvement.