Product availability
The Construction Leadership Council’s Product Availability Working Group’s latest update concluded that there are a number of issues, mostly related to logistics and energy prices, affecting construction material availability and costs at the moment and they are part of a “wider, global complex set of difficulties”. Some of the key headlines:
- HGV drivers a key concern, unlikely to improve before Q1 2022 at the earliest “there are no immediate solutions”.
- UK ports continue to struggle.
- High gas and electricity costs and associated carbon costs, which are impacting both UK and overseas ‘heavy-side’ manufacturers, will soon lead to significant price increases for ceramic products, glass, steel, and bricks.
- Cement supply is steady but prices are expected to increase in the next few months because of higher energy prices
- Brick manufacturing is at maximum capacity, with some brickmakers investing in expansion, but this will not come on stream for some time. Exceptional demand has depleted current stocks and imports are bridging the gap. Extended lead times are likely to continue at least until the second half of next year
- Roof tiles have seen high demand which has stopped stocks from being replenished, but manufacturing is at full capacity
- Timber is becoming more readily available and the price has fallen for some products
- Sanitaryware imported from Asia is subject to disruption in shipping, which is unlikely to be fully resolved until 2023 as additional containers are expected
- Paint and coatings products continue to be affected by global raw material shortages and supply chain issues resulting in increased lead times for some products as well as rising prices