Landscape Management, May 2014
PHOTO CASE SNOW MANAGEMENT SNOW ICE GUIDE higher than average in most locations See sidebar for snowfall statistics In addition to the high precipitation states like Wisconsin Michigan Minnesota Iowa Indiana Illinois and Missouri registered a top 10 coldest winter for the 2013 2014 season according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Statistics like that caused the high demand for salt Case for instance used 50 percent more salt than average winters past albeit the company also grew 25 percent more than last year Glatt says Suppliers scramble to meet demand What weve seen this year has been wave after wave of snow and ice events across the snow belt Klein says That has caused demand unlike what most people have seen ever LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET MAY 2014 24 To compensate Cargills salt miners worked up to 60 hours per week compared to last years 32 hours per week Klein says The company quickly used up its excess supply from last season The result of that overtime covered only the companys orders for contractholding customers though And many of those contracts have maximums meaning clients may receive 20 percent to 30 percent more product than originally agreed upon and at the same price Halfway through the winter most customers already were into their maximums Klein says leaving little else for contractors looking to buy as they go Suppliers like Cargill are obligated to fulfill the orders of contract holding clients before other customers And some suppliers give government contracts precedence over private contracts because its viewed as a public safety issue Those scenarios left contractors like Glatt and Shayne Newman president of YardApes on the outs of receiving rock salt when it was sitting right in front of them Municipalities or the state always take first dibs on salt Glatt says Youre not able to get in line and pick it up Newman faced like challenges saying at one point he called every supplier within 100 miles of the New Milford Conn based company just to find none continued on page 26 Case used 50 percent more salt this past season than an average winter 10 CITIES WITH THEIR TOP 5 SNOWIEST WINTERS IN 2013 2014 Allentown Pa 678 inches Chicago 806 inches Cincinnati 469 inches Detroit 917 inches Fort Wayne Ind 736 inches Indianapolis 554 inches Peoria Ill 573 inches Philadelphia 68 inches Toledo Ohio 853 inches Wilmington Del 561 inches SOURCE THE WEATHER CHANNEL THROUGH APRIL 3
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