Short Supply of Concrete Roof Tiles Continues as Materials Costs Rise

THE PRODUCTION, DELIVERIES AND STOCKS of concrete roof tiles all fell again in the third quarter of 2021, as materials costs rise.

Concrete Roof Tiles

Stocks of concrete roof tiles are at an all-time low with just 1,632,000 m² of roof tiles being held – a further reduction from the previous quarter’s record-breaking low, of -1.56%.

According to the latest Building Materials and Components statistics issued by BEIS, production and deliveries also fell further in Q3 from the previous quarter. Production was reported at 3,662,000m² a fall from the previous quarter of -6.81%.

Meanwhile deliveries were also reduced, down -7.59% quarter-on-quarter from 3,990,000m² to 3,687,000m².

Material Costs

The news about concrete tile supply comes against a backdrop of further price rises. The latest figures show that there was cost rise of 23.6% in September for all building work, compared to the previous year.

Within this, Repair and Maintenance saw the biggest price rises on the year of 25.5%, with Other New Work at a 23% rise in the past 12 months, and New Housing costs rising by 22.1%.

Month on month rises saw New Housing building costs rise by 0.3% from August to September 2021. Repair and Maintenance also rose by 0.2% and Other New Work by 0.1% month-on-month.

Once again, the biggest price rises were for sawn or planed wood, which has increased in cost by 73.3% in the past year. Fabricated Structural Steel and Particle Board saw similar increases in cost, rising by 72.6% and 65.4% respectively.

Production of cement and clinker both continued to decrease, by 11.4% in 2020. Sales of Sand and Gravel fell by 5.6% in the third quarter of 2021, while sales of Ready Mixed Concrete increased by 4.7% in Q2, 2021 compared to the previous quarter. There was a slight increase in brick deliveries in September compared to August of 0.4%, following August’s -3.9% decrease.

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