How HS2 and lack of lorry drivers are causing a Shropshire cement shortage

Builders’ merchants are seeing record levels of demand with projects of all sizes are pressing ahead as the coronavirus crisis nears an end.

Andrew Huxley, boss of Shropshire construction firm Besblock, said there was unprecedented demand from all sectors.

“In many respects it’s the perfect storm,” he said. “You have an incredibly buoyant housing market because of the stamp duty holiday, you have people with more money in their pocket because of lockdown and you have some huge capital projects going on around the country.

“There’s shortages on everything from bricks and timber to fridges and work surfaces so it looks like all of us are in the same position.”

Besblock makes millions of concrete blocks, such as its market-leading Star Performer, for housebuilders such as Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon Homes, all from its two-factory site in Halesfield, Telford. Andrew said orders were coming in thick and fast.

“We’ve never seen demand like this from the construction sector. Every client wants more blocks, more often.

“It’s obviously great for us as a business and means our teams are constantly busy but we are noticing a serious supply-and-demand issue among the big developers and we’re doing everything we can to even this out.”

Urban areas of the West Midlands are also affected. Shaun O’Reilly from Hordern Crescent, Quarry Bank, who carries out design and craft work including sculptures, was shocked to be told about the shortage when he visited Wickes to get bags of cement.

Shaun needed it for a project he was carrying out to build a wooden pagoda for a customer. He was told builders’ merchants couldn’t get supplies of cement and sand and that demand from the huge high speed rail HS2 project was one of the reasons.

“I went to a smaller builders’ merchants nearby and they said the same,” he added.

He eventually rang around a dozen different builders’ merchants and finally was able to find bags of cement available at Travis Perkins in Dudley.

Shaun said that builders were also experiencing rising prices locally for timber and plastic guttering.

“We are being told that part of the reason for the rises is the shortage of shipping containers,” he added. “It is becoming a real problem for builders. If we can’t get things like cement and sand then we can’t do the work we are paid for.”

People carrying out DIY home improvement projects and self-employed builders are also being hit.

The Construction Leadership Council has warned that the “unprecedented” materials shortage in the construction sector will continue well into the second half of this year. Timber and roof tiles are also among the materials in short supply.

Builders Merchants Federation chief executive John Newcomb says record demand for building materials and full pipelines of work are behind the problems. Demand both in the UK and globally is continuing to outstrip supply and it shows few signs of slowing during the seasonally busy summer months. The CLC also warns that it is feeding into price inflation with the expectation that high demand coupled with tight supply will sustain elevated prices throughout the year.

Insulation boards are also facing a supply squeeze and plasterboard suppliers are struggling to keep up with material deliveries. Also adding to the supply problem is a shortage of HGV drivers.

The construction industry is faced with 15,000 fewer haulier drivers due to Brexit, while 30,000 HGV driver tests were also postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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

Mineral Products Association chief executive Nigel Jackson says that cement shortages should be resolved this summer as the majority of the material is produced in the UK.

Timber and steel, though, rely on imports which leaves them vulnerable to trade difficulties and haulier issues.

There has also been a nationwide shortage of timber since the first lockdown in March last year and imports will be an issue for the foreseeable future.

Roughly half of National Federation of Roofing Contractors members have reported a shortage of concrete roof tiles, according to the federation’s chief executive, James Talman.

About 60 per cent of imported materials used in UK construction projects comes from the EU and increased congestion has been reported at UK ports since the turn of the year, leading to delays.

The Federation of Master Builders’ last State of Trade survey revealed that 93 per cent of its members had reported material price increases in the first quarter.