20 | Sector Market Update: Fencing & Pallets
SUMMARY
■Fencing demand was strong this year.
■Mills started the season with low inventories
■Shipping problems and wars are affecting the pallet sector
■Pallet demand is slack but pallet wood prices are rising
STRONG SEASON FOR FENCING SECTOR
The rainy weather that framed the fencing season did not dampen demand but it’s a different mood in the pallet sector, where business is being hit by global problems. Keren Fallwell reports
Despite the wet start to spring and summer, this year’s fencing season was anything but a washout. Dry, warm weather eluded the UK for many weeks in the early months but fencing demand was so strong that many mills failed to keep pace – not helped by starting the season with inventories lower than ideal. “Demand through late spring and early summer was exceptional and mills struggled to overcome the shortfall suffered throughout the first half of the year,” said one sawmiller. “The majority of domestic mills have been producing at maximum output but, without the additional buffer of strong inventory to support supply throughout the start of the season, mills were unable to get ahead and keep pace with demand. This resulted in supply chain challenges,” he said.
Despite these challenges, he added, the fencing sector had “performed extremely well”.
For one supplier, the fencing season had been so buoyant that his sales improved on last year.
A contractor was also pleased with this year’s demand, especially as he had picked up some “very sizeable jobs” while continuing to service customers’ smaller requirements. He noted, however, that business slowed down during the school summer holidays. “The pattern has now fully reverted to pre-Covid times when you expect peaks and troughs as a result of things like school holidays,” he said.
A supplier also found August quieter than expected, which he put down to it being the first “proper holiday season” for a long time.
One manufacturer and supplier was not as upbeat as others. He believed his business had suffered not only from the wet start to the season, but also from the “Covid void” – the aftermath of the insatiable demand for fencing from mid-2020 to late 2022. He was not alone in saying the build-up to this year’s general election had created some uncertainty, even though the outcome was fairly certain.
“Business is always slower prior to a general election,” he said, adding that sales did rise again after the election. In terms of product choices this year, the trend for contemporary, Venetian-style panels continued, along with the fencing staples of featheredge and waney-edge. Fencing demand has now slowed with the arrival of autumn, and wetter weather. “Enquiries are still coming in but not the volume we had previously,” said a contractor. He said business was now “ticking over nicely” on a seven-week lead time and he had stock to cover work that might arise from winter storms.
A sawmiller said September’s wet weather had accelerated the slowdown. “Poor weather throughout September has dampened domestic fencing demand through the merchant network. Agricultural fencing has also been disrupted by poor weather and a late harvest, resulting in lower than normal activity levels,” he said.
Above: Fencing demand through late spring and early summer was exceptional PHOTO: FOREST GARDEN
TTJ | November/December 2024 |
www.ttjonline.com
The seasonal reduction in demand has been accompanied by price reductions. “We are already seeing the usual end of season discounted offers, which are designed to keep volumes moving during the quieter
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