An unprecedented materials shortage in the construction sector will continue well into the second half of 2021, the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has warned

The AJ’s sister title Construction News reports that timber, roof tiles and bagged cement head the list of materials in short supply. Record demand for building materials and full pipelines of work have led to ‘unprecedented challenges’, according to Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) chief executive John Newcomb and Construction Products Association (CPA) chief executive Peter Caplehorn, who head up the CLC’s Product Availability working group.

‘Demand both in the UK and globally continues to dramatically outstrip supply and shows few signs of slowing during the seasonally busy summer months,’ the group’s most recent statement reads.

‘Inevitably, all of this is feeding into price inflation, and the expectation is that high demand, coupled with tight supply, will sustain elevated prices throughout the year.’

Insulation board supply is also squeezed, with contractors now looking for alternatives to PIR insulation, according to the CLC. Plasterboard suppliers are also struggling to keep up with material deliveries, with lead times extended.Availability of hauliers, already in short supply earlier this year, is now a ‘critical nationwide problem’, the CLC said. The industry has 15,000 fewer drivers due to Brexit, while 30,000 HGV driver tests were also postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Delays in brick and block deliveries have been reported in some regions.

Electrical products are in further short supply, due to a shipping backlog in China’s Pearl River Delta, as hundreds of ships wait to dock. The blockade is worse than the Suez Canal blockade in March, according to the Electrical Contractors Association.

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