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Economy

Trump admin to extend financial aid to skilled trades training in July

The Workforce Pell Grant program could make HVAC training more affordable, with students expected to receive about $2,200 each, depending on program length

Exclusive

Inside the $40 million ‘Hurricane Lab’ stress testing America’s roofs

How insurers are using full-scale storm simulations to expose roofing failure points — and what it means for contractors

Roofing wholesale prices ticked up slightly in April

Compared to April 2025, the reading is up 0.75 percent, per the BLS — and 31 percent over the past five years, since April 2021

Plumbing wholesale prices didn’t budge in April

Compared to April 2025, the index is up 8.6 percent — and 31.9 percent over the past five years, since April 2021

Legal

GAF hit with antitrust lawsuit over alleged price-fixing scheme

A New Jersey roofing contractor is accusing the manufacturer of anti-competitive pricing practices and improper use of contractor certification systems

Bay Area regulators split over first-of-its-kind gas water heater ban

The rule, beginning in 2027, stands to affect about eight million residents

AHRI, HARDI challenge New York HFC rule in court

A state rule significantly expands prohibitions on the sale, use, and installation of a range of products containing HFC refrigerants

And then there were six: HVAC manufacturer lawsuits move toward consolidation

Attorneys on Wednesday agreed to coordinate for pretrial purposes, moving the cases along three distinct tracks representing three categories of plaintiffs

M&A

USA Hometown Experts exploring sale, reports say

While the reported process is in the early stages, it follows a string of private equity-backed platform activity this year

Redwood Services buys five-contractor group for $220 million

The deal marks just the second platform-buys-platform transaction among today’s residential HVAC, plumbing, and electrical platforms

Watsco to buy $230 million HVAC distributor Jackson Supply

Jackson Supply Company counts 25 locations across the Sunbelt, including Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Arizona

Roto-Rooter snaps up two franchises for $20.6 million

The Roto-Rooter corporate entity has been acquiring franchises to “boost productivity, market share, and profitability”

Management

Google channels diverged on paying customers, average ticket in Q1: Analysis

Google’s primary lead generation channels, from Business Profiles to Local Services Ads, in the first quarter of this year told different stories, according to one analysis