20 | Markets: Fencing & Pallets


SUMMARY


■ The fencing season has generally got off to a slow start


■ Manufacturers and suppliers are expecting an average year


■ The high oil price is placing an extra burden on businesses


■ TIMCON says the pallet sector is facing difficult trading conditions


UNSURPRISING SEASON


FENCING SECTOR BRACED FOR


Rising costs and demand still saturated by the Covid pandemic buying frenzy mean this year’s fencing season could be subdued. The pallet sector is also feeling the effects of economic uncertainty and increased costs. Keren Fallwell reports


The only certainties in life in general may be death and taxes; in the fencing sector the certain factors that shape the busy season are the weather and consumers’ financial confidence. And this year it has been evident just how uncertain these certainties can be. The rain that plagued the UK over the winter seemed to come to an abrupt halt in spring. This turnaround in the weather has, however, coincided with rising costs as a direct result of the war in Iran, and the prospect that they will rise further. Although the UK economy saw a surprise growth of 0.3% in March, inflation is highly likely to rise this year, and consumers are facing a squeeze on their finances. In mid-May, Europe’s leading tour operator, Tui, said it had seen a 10% fall in revenue from summer holiday bookings made by UK customers, who had become more cautious because of the Iran war. Either people’s money saved could now be spent on gardens, or they might holiday in the UK. At the time of writing, the UK was thrown into further uncertainty with the fallout from the May 7 elections, causing volatility in financial markets and unease for many consumers. Which brings us back to the certain impact of the weather on the fencing market. A fencing contractor said the continual rain in January and February had really stymied business at the start of the year, but the tempo had picked up by early May.


TTJ | Summer 2026 | www.ttjonline.com


“The wet weather for the first two months made business very slow. At peak we were only running on approximately two weeks to be able to do customers’ work,” he said. Orders were so slow coming in that on a few sizeable jobs he had to cut his margins to win the work. He also had a “good amount” of concrete spurs to fit as a result of the wet weather.


It was a worrying start to the year – and slower than other years – but since the drier weather started, business had picked up massively, he said.


In fact, demand had improved to such an extent that he was now working on an approximately 10-week lead time to install projects.


If the current level of demand continued, he was expecting a very busy spring and summer although he acknowledged that if the cost of living continued to be high it might dampen customers’ enthusiasm to spend. For now, Iran war economic fallout was not having a big impact on his business although one supplier had requested orders be in bulk to save on the fuel cost of multiple deliveries. A fencing supplier concurred that the year had been slow to start, largely because of the wet winter and possibly because Easter was later than some years. Demand was similar to last year – with the exception of agricultural fencing, which was in very high demand – and although sales were up slightly, rising


costs meant it would be a “neutral” year. “We had very positive intentions back in October but now with the worldwide situation we will be happy to be on a par,” the supplier said. The massive hike in oil prices because of the war in Iran was alone adding £600 a week in fuel costs for two trucks. In response, he had increased delivery charges by 17%. “This is a balancing act as with the market constantly being on a knife edge, we are unsure on what it will take,” his colleague said. The weather caused a few problems with Baltic supplies during the winter, and at one point ice-breaker surcharges were imposed, but good supply has now resumed. One manufacturer told TTJ he had switched the bulk of his timber needs to home-grown because supply was reliable and lead times were good.


As would be expected for this time of year, and with costs rising in general, timber prices are rising.


The contractor said his main home-grown mill, and a secondary mill, had introduced small price increases to cover higher transport costs as they felt the market would not accept a product price increase. He told TTJ some of his timber suppliers had raised prices by 2%, and his main supplier had announced a 5% increase to come into effect on June 1.


He added that he had not increased his own


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69