It was yet another interesting time in 2022. Here’s a look at a few of the highlights.

Higher costs for everything from materials to employees to fuel created challenges for contractors throughout the year. Construction input prices were up 16.3% in September, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors.

The reasons for higher inflation were many, from the lingering pandemic to the war in Ukraine to government policy. As a result, higher prices are expected to remain for some time to come.

Consolidation was a major topic again this year. Among the fast-growing companies adding to their portfolios were ATI Restoration, Kustom U.S., BluSky Restoration, FLEET Response Group, and BMS CAT.

FirstService Corp. started the year with a major acquisition, adding five firms to its restoration platform. Then in October, FirstService made three more acquisitions, including one of its larger existing Paul Davis Restoration franchises.

The pace of consolidation seems likely to slow in 2023. Mergers and acquisitions are falling in all industry due to higher interest rates and economic uncertainty.

There were several major natural catastrophes this year.

The year started with the end of the Marshall fire, which burned over 1,000 structures in Colorado over the course of three days. Fires are occurring in more places and more frequently than ever before, creating the need for new standards.

The same is true of flooding. The highest profile flood in the U.S. this year took place in Yellowstone National Park.

Hurricane season took a while to arrive, but then came two big storms in September. Hurricane Fiona caused major damage to Puerto Rico and parts of Canada, but missed the U.S. for the most part after threatening the East Coast. A week later came Hurricane Ian, which hit Florida as category 4 storm, causing billions of dollars of property damage.

As for our magazine, we handed out two awards to recognize people making a difference in our industry.

Diana Rodriguez-Zaba, president of ServiceMasterRestoration by Zaba, earned the Women in Restoration Award in the spring. Then in the fall, Nicholas Hopkins, historic restoration foreman at EverGreene Architecture, earned the Ladder Award, which honors outstanding young restoration professionals 35 years and younger.

In other news, BNP Media, our parent company, bought The Experience Conference and Exhibitions, one of the largest trade shows in the cleaning, restoration and remediation industry. The two brands have big plans going forward.