Plan Now for Increased Housing Construction says CLC

PLAN NOW for increased housing construction activity – that’s the message of the the Construction Leadership Council’s (CLC) Material Supply Chain Group.

Against a backdrop of a few material availability problems in the UK construction product supply chain, the CLC advice to plan ahead comes as industry forecasters expect any notable growth prospects – particularly for housing activity – not before 2025.

Members of the CLC group strongly advocate that industry uses this time to plan in advance, working closely with supply chains. The guidance is for contractors to forecast and communicate their requirements early with suppliers, distributors and builders’ merchants.

The CLC said, “As we learned during the pandemic, collaborative, ongoing communication throughout the whole supply chain is mutually beneficial and essential to a healthy, productive UK construction industry”.

The group says that, currently there are generally good levels of product availability. However, some merchants and housebuilders have flagged concerns around aerated blocks, Class B engineering bricks and concrete roof tiles, where certain manufacturers have implemented allocations or 2-3 week lead times.

Concrete Roof Tile Shortages

Shortages are thought to stem from temporary production issues and may be exacerbated by over-ordering. They are not thought to be having a serious impact on build programmes at this time.

In the case of aerated blocks, additional capacity is in the process of being created by one major manufacturer that will positively impact supply and lead times from mid-October onwards.

Other concerns flagged at the most recent meeting of the group included:  containers costs for imported products, which appear to be rising again after a prolonged decline. Some shipping routes are said to now be priced at two thirds of their post-Covid peak. Other concerns centre on an increase in bad debts, and continuing skills shortages.

The CLC Materials Supply Chain group will be monitoring the impact of the Government’s ambitions to further reform the industry in the wake of the Grenfell Inquiry final report.  The recommendations from that report are currently being studied by some members of the group, the wider CLC and the Government. The Prime Minister has promised to respond within six months.

The recent government announcement on extending recognition of CE marking for UK construction products manufacturers was welcomed. The group considers it removes a key risk to future product availability.

The monthly product availability statement comes from 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 Material Supply Chain Group.

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