By Shawn Zuver, DesignandBuildwithMetal.com

It's a new year with a new president, congress and senate guiding the federal government in the U.S. What lies ahead in 2017 for the country's citizens and businesses? That's always the big question.

There are many challenges for the administration and legislators - like filling a vacancy on the Supreme Court, dealing with terrorism, considering changes to the Affordable Care Act, foreign relations, and immigration policy. While all of these issues and others affect each of us individually and our industry as a whole, it seems that one of the most immediate concerns for the design and construction communities is the scarcity of laborers to handle the demand.

Survey results released last week by the Associated General Contractors Of America (AGC) show that 76% of U.S. contractors expect to continue to have problems finding qualified workers in 2017. This comes at a time when AGC says that the majority of firms expect the demand for public and private construction will grow this year.

The bottom line is there should be a strong demand for products in 2017 - including metal roofing, wall panels and buildings - although some labor challenges need to be overcome by many companies. Congress and the new Trump administration have pledged to create a climate where businesses can thrive, and the construction industry is making efforts to address labor shortages, so I'm personally very encouraged about the prospects for our industry in 2017.

	The new Sustainability (above) and Residential (below) Landing Pages serve as a springboard so visitors to DesignandBuildwithMetal can quickly find what they need.

Residential And Sustainability Landing Pages...

At DesignandBuildwithMetal.com, we realize that time is a precious asset for everyone so we've kicked off 2017 by introducing Sustainability and Residential Landing Pages that help architects, contractors and building/home owners find the information they need as quickly as possible. By highlighting focused examples from the thousands of projects, informational articles, product items and news postings on our site, these two new pages serve as a springboard for visitors to find exactly what they need right away, allowing them to make the most effective use of their time.

On each of these new Landing Pages, visitors will find links to specially-selected content from new postings and our archives of the past 10 years. As examples: Sustainability Landing Page visitors have quick access to info on renewable energy systems, cool roofs and walls, and solar-reflective coatings; Residential Landing Page features include specialty roof systems, snow retention, architectural zinc, and coated metal product advice.

Links to the new Sustainability and Residential Landing Pages (along with others for Metal Walls, Metal Roofing, and Metal Buildings that were introduced in 2016) can be found as colored bars in the navigation at the top of every page of our site, including our Home Page, for desktop visitors. The Landing Pages are also available on the mobile version of DesignandBuildwithMetal.com, for phones and smaller tablets, through the dropdown menu. We hope these new Landing Pages can help you find exactly what you need, when you need it...allowing you more time to meet the growing demand for your products and services.

Best wishes for health and success to everyone in 2017!