Concerns have been raised that a lack of supply of roofing materials may hold the housebuilding industry back this year. PHPD investigates.
Whilst a trade agreement with the EU was ultimately signed before Christmas and ahead of the end of the transition period, supply chain disruption was becoming a major concern as the broader logistics industry contended with a triple threat of seasonal demand pressures, Brexit and the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Border closures, traffic jams, lorry parks, customs declarations, rules of origin, container shortages, disruption at the ports and a lack of hauliers. It has not been a positive time for the vast majority of businesses in the country who depend on a smooth supply chain and seamless logistics.
With issues mounting and increasing accounts detailing the impact on construction supplies, the BMF announced shortly before Christmas that it had begun collating reports from members on product availability issues and would be advising Government on the impact this is having on the sector.
According to the BMF, the current issues mainly relate to goods imported from the Far East in addition to timber products imported from Scandinavia, where supplies of soft wood are under pressure due to increased demand worldwide.
BMF CEO, John Newcomb — who co-chairs the Construction Leadership Council’s working group on product availability and the movement of goods and materials following Brexit — was reported to be in regular dialogue with the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to share intelligence with relevant parties across Government. BEIS has relayed these discussions to the key relevant Departments including the Department of Transport, which is monitoring the issue and increasing its engagement with the shipping industry.
Speaking in late December, John said: “Pretty much all the availability issues at the moment are Covid-related and the result of factories closing and re-opening, along with the shortage of container capacity, which also flows from Covid. At the moment we view Brexit as a complicating factor rather than the main area of concern, but we have also raised the issue of the preparedness of UK ports and customs post-Brexit with our contacts at BEIS.”
He added: “While shortages are not reported to be impacting sites yet, there are a lot of suppliers and merchants already flashing warning signs. It takes only one material to be unavailable to impact work on site.”
According to a recent report from the NFRC, when asked to rank their top three concerns for 2021, almost half of roofing and cladding contractors put material shortages at the top of the list.
Roof tiles were the most common material shortage reported by roofing contractors in the final quarter of 2020, with almost half of firms struggling to get hold of them. Roofers also listed timber and battens (17 per cent), slates (14 per cent) and insulation (5 per cent) as other materials in shortage.
Shortages are having a knock-on impact on material prices, with three quarters of firms reporting inflationary pressures in the last year, and two thirds of roofers saying that prices have increased even on the previous quarter.
