As vice-president of sales at Lake Forest-based IMC Global Inc., Mr. Briggs must disappoint a steady stream of callers, who've offered everything from hams to cash premiums for more salt.

"It's just insane. Salt has become like uranium," says Mr. Briggs, who is based in Overland Park, Kan.

IMC Global is using its existing salt supply to fulfill contracts inked months ago at $25 to $35 per ton. The demand is so strong that the company could get as much as $100 a ton, though. And it may, if it has salt left over after filling orders, Mr. Briggs says.

IMC, which supplies salt to the Illinois Department of Transportation, is just one of hundreds of businesses benefiting from the early-season snowfalls totaling a record 41.3 inches for December — more than the average total for an entire year here.

The owners of snowplows, their repair companies, ski shop managers and online retailers all saw revenues rise 20% to 50% in December, in the wake of the storms.

The added business is "like gravy on dinner," says Thom Paker, who repairs snowplows in Chicago. Since a blizzard blanketed the city with 14.4 inches of snow on Dec. 11, Mr. Paker's business, Thom's Four Wheel Drive & Auto Service Inc., has been operating 18 hours a day to fix machinery that's had to run non-stop.

Home Depot Inc. sold 10,000 snowblowers in the Chicago area last month, more than the Atlanta-based company sold here all winter last year, a spokeswoman says.

And sales at the Ace Hardware on North Clark Street "are through the ceiling compared with previous years," says Alan Endres, the store's merchandising manager. The demand for salt and snowplows, in particular, has outpaced supply at Ace, forcing Mr. Endres to buy additional supplies from retailers.

Bundling up

The rising sales extend beyond snow-removal necessities like shovels, windshield scrapers and ice picks. At BlueLight.com, the online retailer that is 60%-owned by Michigan-based Kmart Corp., business surged after the first storm. Chicago moved from seventh place on the list of regional sales to second, says a spokesman for the California-based company.

"We don't sell a lot of seasonal products, but we did see a jump in hooded sweatshirts and sweaters," he says.

Bob Olson, president of Viking Ski Shop Inc. in Chicago, saw cross-country skis soar in popularity. The store sold out of them last month and won't get more until next season. "It was a great December for us," he says.

The added business does come with a price: exhaustion, and occasional exasperation.

Those on the front lines who must ration bagged rock salt to apartment building managers, factories and shopping centers, for instance, are more than a little harried by the logistics of getting salt to customers.

"Everyone in this business is totally frazzled," says John Monfore, owner of Midwest Salt in Carol Stream. Mr. Monfore estimates that his revenues jumped 50% in December, compared with the year before, but he also went to work at 4 a.m. one day last week to procure salt for his customers, and he worked his first Sunday ever to supply salt to a hospital.

And customers overwhelmed by the snow and the job of getting rid of it are mixing up orders for salt or forgetting they didn't order at all, he said. "They are showing signs of burnout," he says.

Part of the frustration may come from the fact that many businesses have exhausted their budgets for snow removal. Jim Biebrach, president of Snow Systems Inc. in Wheeling, is fielding endless phone requests for the company's snowplowing services. The company has even run ads on the Weather Channel, seeking experienced plow drivers with newer equipment.

"We did the billing in 16 days that took 16 weeks last year," he says.

He sees the demand for snow-removal services slowing, however, as landlords and real estate managers run out of money.

"At first, they just didn't want to see (the snow). Now, they are telling their tenants and their consistent complainers to put up with it. This is Chicago," he says.

City snowed under, too

Meanwhile, the city of Chicago already has spent $22 million for snow removal and other weather-related services, exhausting its $18-million snow-removal budget for the current fiscal year. The city will seek assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which reimbursed Chicago for some of its snow-removal costs after about 20 inches fell in a January 1999 storm.

For David Launius, owner of Three Twins Inc., a Chicago-based plowing service, the snowfall has no downside. He sees it an instance "when preparation meets opportunity."

But Midwest Salt's Mr. Monfore has a different reaction to snow forecasts these days. "I cringe," he says. "We need a good two to three weeks to get caught up (with the demand for salt)."

With a break, he might get back the peace of mind he had last winter. Then, he recalls wistfully, "I had time to take a walk, and I had my wits about me."

©2001 by Crain Communications Inc.