John Newcomb, CEO of the Builders Merchants Federation and Peter Caplehorn, CEO of the Construction Products Association, co-chairs of the Construction Leadership Council’s Product Availability working group have issued their latest statement addressing the building products industry.
Despite little changes in overall product availability since the last report, with a good supply of most products and materials across the UK, the impact of the war in Ukraine is only beginning to be felt by the sector.
There are reports of nickel prices doubling since the conflict began (Russia was a major supplier before sanctions hit), which affects the price of stainless steel and subsequently increases the prices of copper, steel, and aluminium.
Moreover, recent increases in the price of oil will likely affect both fuel and plastics. Although there are no issues expected for structural timber, birch plywood (widely used as a finishing product) and Russian redwood (a predominant source for mouldings) will be affected.
Now, the biggest concern is the rate at which increased energy and raw material costs are driving up prices, particularly for steel, cement, glass and other energy-intensive products. The last three months have seen price inflation of 10-15%, in addition to price increases introduced at the end of last year.
While this is challenging for UK construction firms, the impact is greatest for small and medium sized enterprises (SME), which account for most of the industry’s businesses and nearly all builders and contractors. While the first quarter was busy for those completing existing projects, there were signs of a dip in demand in home improvement work in March compared to a considerable uplift at the same time last year.
The further lack of price continuity is making it harder for tradesmen to quote for projects on fixed price contracts, and then seek to pass onto their customers any price increases for materials that would otherwise erode their profit margin.
Furthermore, as manufacturers reprice materials and SME contractors continue to be required to sign up to fixed price contracts in advance of project delivery periods, considerable pressure is mounting on SMEs at the delivery level.
>>Read more product availability here.
