This Week in the Trades

Diesel jumped 24.1% in a single month, materials moved in both directions, and the tariff fight escalated on September 8. What actually changed your job costs this week.

A quick scan of the software, pricing, and workforce news that actually moves the needle for shop owners. Augmented Trades participates in affiliate programs and may earn a commission — see our affiliate disclosure. We recommend tools on fit, not on who pays us. ServiceTitan is tightening its App Marketplace — and Podium is the … Read more

No software company that matters to a small shop shipped anything this week. What moved was ownership — a multibillion-dollar deal closed on Monday — and, a few days earlier, a decent argument that the word every vendor is now stamping on its product tells you almost nothing about what you’re buying. Those two things … Read more

The data center boom is bidding for the same electricians you employ, at a 42% wage premium. The training money making headlines is mostly months old.

This week ran on a split screen. On one side, four of the biggest companies in America publicly declared the skilled trades shortage a national problem. On the other, software vendors kept doing what they have done all summer: shipping more AI features. Put them side by side and the honest takeaway for a small … Read more

Labor owned the week: JPMorgan, Google, and a robot bricklaying startup all bet big on the trades shortage, Turner and Townsend says labor is now the top construction cost driver, and QuickBooks Online reprices August 1.

This week: federal Pell money opens for short trades programs, insurers discount premiums for jobsite monitoring, copper whipsaws ahead of a tariff decision, and Jobber ships three quiet field updates.

A lot moved in the trade-software world this week, and the honest through-line is a useful corrective to the hype. The trade press has started reviewing “AI-native” platforms as the new normal, the most genuinely useful thing that actually shipped wasn’t AI at all, and the cost of all this software is about to climb. … Read more

Housecall Pro’s new AI-focused CEO, ServiceTitan and Avoca’s billion-dollar bet on missed calls, Jobber’s big tease, and Meta paying to train the trades — what this week’s moves mean for your shop.