President's Message: Trusses Are Not a Commodity

Trusses Are Not a Commodity

Elevating the Way Our Industry Is Understood, Valued, and Respected

ONE OF THE THINGS I LOVE MOST about our industry is that no matter where you go in this country, trusses are being built every single day. From the West Coast to the East Coast, from the Gulf to the Great Lakes, truss plants are hard at work both designing and manufacturing the structural systems within our homes and buildings.

But here is something we need to be much clearer about, both inside and outside our industry: trusses are not a commodity.

Too often, we get lumped in with the rest of the commodities on a jobsite: lumber, sheathing, shingles, siding, windows. Those are commodities. They are standardized. They are interchangeable. A 2x4 is a 2x4. Plywood is plywood. OSB is OSB. 

Trusses are different.

We are not selling studs. We are not selling sheets. We are not selling something pulled off a shelf and put into place. We are designing and manufacturing either custom structural elements or structural systems for every single home, every single building, and every single project we do.

That is not a commodity. That is a value-added product, a value-added system and solution.

Every truss is unique. Even when two homes look similar from the street, the trusses inside are almost always different. Pitch, span, loads, bearings, overhangs, heel heights, mechanical openings, porches, vaults, trays. Each and every design change leads to truss design change.

You can build a 24-foot, 6/12 pitch truss in your market, and I can build a 24-foot, 6/12 pitch truss in mine, and they will not be the same truss. Our wind loads are different. Our snow loads are different. Our seismic requirements may be different. The lumber species available to us may be different. The grades may be different. The plate sizes may be different. Only a few miles of distance can change snow load and wind requirements.

That alone should tell you we are not a commodity.

Look at the materials we use. In the Southeast, many plants rely on Southern Yellow Pine because of regional availability and humidity conditions. In the Northeast and Upper Midwest, spruce and fir are more common. Some regions use more MSR. Others rely on different visual grades. Plate manufacturers offer different programs. Designers make different engineering decisions based on local standards, preferences, and customers’ wants.

Look at the design process itself. There are five major truss design software platforms used across our industry. If trusses were a commodity, there would not be five competing design systems, each with its own modeling approach, engineering assumptions, optimization tools, and workflows.

As an example, if we give the exact same house plan to two different designers in two different regions, we will get two different truss designs. Both will meet code. Both will be structurally sound. Both will perform. But they will not be identical because truss design is engineering, not duplication.

The same holds true with the manufacturing process. No two truss plants operate the same. We run different saws. We use different tables. We build on different automation platforms. We optimize material differently. We sequence production differently. Every plant has its own process, its own layout, its own workflow.

Yet through all of that, we maintain industry standards, quality control, and efficiency. That is not accidental. That is professionalism.

If trusses were a commodity, there would not be a 15-page instructional document explaining how to handle, brace, install, and restrain them properly.

If trusses were a commodity, there would not be a national trade association dedicated to best practices, safety, quality control, education, and continuous improvement. But that is exactly what SBCA does.

Our association is the driving force behind the industry’s best practices — largely because of the variability that exists with regard to truss design, truss manufacturing, truss bracing, and truss installation. From jobsite safety programs to installation guidance to Digital QC, SBCA exists because our products are complex, engineered, and critical to building performance.

We are not cutting boards. We are building structural systems. We are complicated, intricate, and unique components and component systems.

And we need to stop letting anyone tell us otherwise.

Yes, many plants build the same house model multiple times for a builder. Maybe it is the “Boxwood”, as we call it here. Maybe it is another standard plan. But that common truss configuration is not the same house being built by every builder in town. And even within the models that are created, changes happen. A front porch becomes a screened porch. A garage gets larger. A vault gets added. A heel height changes. A load path shifts.

That is customization.

Drive down any street in America and you will see that generally homes are not the same. Rooflines change. Footprints change. Elevations change. Inside, the truss profiles multiply quickly. A 24-foot truss might actually be 24 feet, 6 1/2 inches. That is just one profile, while hundreds are possible, all customized based on the job.

Not only are trusses not a commodity, but they are green and environmentally friendly. They are efficient, they are strong, they use material wisely, they allow architectural creativity, and they make construction faster and safer. And because our industry is already scaled nationwide, structural building components construction represents a powerful, proven solution to the housing affordability and availability challenges facing our country.

But they are not a commodity.

We are one of the only non-commoditized products on a jobsite during the framing phase. And that matters. When we get treated like commodity sellers, our margins shrink like commodities. We get scheduled like a commodity. We also get blamed like commodity sellers. And we are not.

We are designers. We are manufacturers. We are problem solvers. We are partners in the building process.

‘’Not only are trusses not a commodity, but they are green and environmentally friendly. They are efficient."

Our industry is built on expertise, precision, accountability, and trust. Every truss that leaves a plant carries the responsibility of holding up someone’s home, protecting someone’s family, and furthering someone’s livelihood. Purchasing a home is one of the biggest investments of a lifetime. That deserves respect.

So, let’s start talking about trusses the right way. Let’s educate our builders, our general contractors, our inspectors, our own in-house teams, and our communities. Let’s remind them that a truss is not just a truss.

It is a custom-engineered structural solution. It is value-added. And it is one of the most important components on any jobsite.

SBCA will continue to lead this industry forward with best practices, innovation, and advocacy. Together, we will keep raising the bar, strengthening our profession, and making sure the world understands what we already know.

LARRY DIX II,
SBCA President