An online survey on The News' Web site (www.achrnews.com) asked HVACR contractors if this summer's high gasoline and diesel fuel prices were hurting the profitability of their businesses. An overwhelming 91 percent answered affirmatively.

The United States needs to reduce its dependence on foreign oil, declared President George W. Bush at the 16th annual Energy Efficiency Forum, held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. An important step in that direction would be to pass the energy legislation currently pending in Congress, he stated.

Just as President Bush did in his keynote address, other speakers at the 16th annual Energy Efficiency Forum also touched on this country's foreign oil dependence and the importance of energy security.

The Alliance to Save Energy's recent "Great Energy Efficiency Debate" in Washington, D.C., included a panel discussion called "Keeping U.S. Manufacturing Globally Competitive: Is Energy Efficiency a Key?"

An open-door policy, a concern for other employees, and well-compensated workers earned Calvert-Jones Co. Inc. top spot for the North Mid-Atlantic region in the The News' "Best Contractor To Work For" contest.

The latest enhancement to The News Web site, How-To Corner, will be introduced in the coming weeks to provide even more technical content to Web visitors.

The housing market has been incredibly strong the last couple of years, but it is now "reaching its limits," stated David Seiders, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), speaking at the recent NAHB Construction Forecast Conference.

The soaring price of steel is forecasted to gradually come back down to earth. But it's going to be a long, slow decline.

Is energy efficiency really a significant issue with today's HVACR customers? According to a survey on The News' Web site, it decidedly is, but it may not be a big issue in all areas of the country.

When you have a large contracting company, keeping close control of job time and costs can provide substantial savings and help increase profitability. That was the goal when Del-Air looked into the use of a global positioning system (GPS) application for its installation department.