Supply Chain

Construction material prices have soared by more than a fifth since the start of this year, according to the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), which has warned of further “significant” rises to key products in 2022. Average inflation for products so far this year has reached 23 per cent, the CLC…

Labour shortages in the construction industry are a bigger headache than disruption to materials, suppliers have warned. Speaking at CN’s ‘Decarbonising Construction’ event earlier this month, Structural Timber Association (STA) chief executive Andrew Carpenter said the problem with stocks of materials was not as great as long-term issues surrounding the…

As the built environment tussles with a skills shortage, questions have again been asked about what the sector is doing to boost the number of women working in it. Two million women have joined the construction workforce over the last decade, while the number working in engineering has grown by…

Sadiq Khan has admitted that meeting a long-standing target for the construction of affordable homes in London is looking “very difficult”. The capital’s mayor cited the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the UK’s withdrawal from the EU as he set out the challenges of ramping up housebuilding. Khan secured…

JRL Group’s revenue increased last year, but its profit dipped because of inflationary pressures. The Hertfordshire-based firm turned over £610m in the year to 31 December 2020, which was a 7.1 per cent rise on the £570m it made during the previous year, when the pandemic affected its projects. However,…

Operations on the £100bn High Speed 2 project have been disrupted by this week’s rail strikes, forcing material deliveries to be rescheduled. Tens of thousands of rail workers started industrial action yesterday, and are due to strike again on Thursday and Saturday this week over a disagreement on pay and…

More than 350 construction firms have defaulted on their COVID loans at least once. Around 2.5 per cent of all the construction firms who claimed COVID loans have defaulted on repayments, which could foreshadow a wave of administrations. The warning comes from accountancy firm Price Bailey, which compiled the research…

A new tool will help construction firms assess credit risk in their supply chains as financial uncertainty continues to blight the sector. The business health dashboard will provide firms with information about outstanding debts and payment risk along the supply chain. The tool was designed by the construction technology company…

Construction output has fallen after five consecutive months of growth, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal. Following a surge in March driven by increased repair works after major storms, output decreased by 0.4 per cent in April, or £58m. It was the first monthly decline since October…

Key industry figures have sounded the alarm after research showed residential construction growth slowed to its weakest pace since the first COVID-19 lockdown. The closely-watched housebuilding index produced by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) registered a reading of 50.7 in May, its lowest level since May 2020.…