UK construction industry bodies the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) and the Construction Products Association (CPA) say they are joining forces to identify materials likely to be in short supply in the re-opening period following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The BMF and CPA stated that they are monitoring the manufacturing and distribution of their respective members, adding that their collaboration will help meet the needs of housebuilders, contractors and SME builders.
The two bodies are heading up the Product Availability Group, set-up by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), which is coordinating the industry’s response to the Covid-19 crisis.
The BMF says it is gaining information from across its membership – comprising of 710 members with combined sales of £32bn – to identify items likely to be in short supply and take steps to address them.
According to the BMF, early shortfalls in plaster and plasterboard supply were flagged-up under the monitoring system, but steps are being taken to resolve that shortfall.
John Newcomb, chief executive of the BMF, said: “Currently we are seeing no major issues, apart from plaster and plasterboard, but manufacturing is now scheduled to increase to address this problem.
“As a group, we are meeting every two weeks to keep a watching brief on the situation across the entire construction industry supply chain.
“We want to deal with potential issues proactively, to ensure demand is met across the construction sector.
“Nothing like this has happened before, and the work we are doing is unprecedented.
Peter Caplehorn, CPA chief executive, added: “The CPA has been closely monitoring the operational status of its members. They are looking for sustainable demand for their products before starting to phase in more factory production, while at the same time ensuring the health and well-being of their workforce.
“With the BMF, we are discussing with Government and the wider industry the need to encourage builders and merchants to safely re-open more sites and branches, in addition to continuing support for ‘essential’ activity such as key NHS and infrastructure projects, repair and maintenance.”
