NEWS EXTRA
AUTUMN CONFIDENCE CONTINUES FOR UK TRADES
Despite shortages and Covid issues, the UK’s tradespeople remain confident about their workloads in the coming months, according to Travis Perkins’ latest survey.
OVER 1400 TRADESPEOPLE from across the UK remain optimistic about workload prospects, despite material shortages. That’s according to the latest Travis Perkins Index, released in August. Of the 1,446 people surveyed, 95% expected their workloads to either remain the same, increase or even greatly increase over the next two months.
Customers from Travis Perkins, Keyline, CCF and Toolstation businesses were surveyed via email in July and asked to look ahead to the next two months. The responses received represent a significant cross section of the UK market and span a wide variety of company sizes, from sole traders through to companies employing up to 100 staff. The majority (54%) are sole traders while nearly four out of five employ no more than three people.
Despite the continued challenges posed by the ongoing COVID- 19 pandemic, concerns around restrictions and global supply shortages in key materials, the UK’s tradespeople still remain very optimistic about the near-term outlook for their businesses with almost all expecting their workloads to either remain the same, increase or even greatly increase over the next two months. Very few expected to see a decline in the amount of building materials they anticipate purchasing over the next two month period.
For the vast majority, domestic repair and maintenance is still highlighted as the main driver of growth for their business although a significant proportion also highlighted newbuild housing as the expected source of most of their work.
Respondents remain upbeat when assessing their expected workloads over the next two months. Over half (56%) of all respondents believe workloads would increase over the next
8
shortages of key materials in a variety of ways.
two months while 39% expect it to remain unchanged with only 5% forecasting a decline in activity levels. This sentiment was broadly mirrored by respondents’ assessment of their likely materials needs with 60% forecasting an increase in their materials requirements over the next two months and 34% expecting no change. Only 6% expected to see their materials requirements decline. Once again, a significant majority of respondents pinpointed the domestic repair and maintenance market as being the key driver of growth for their business with 70% highlighting this area as where they will see the majority of work coming from over the next two months. Interestingly, 20% also selected new build housing as a key driver of growth. It is clear from this report that materials shortages are now having a significant impact in the form of planning challenges, delays to existing projects and new project starts. Just over half of respondents stated that materials shortages have only had ‘a little’ impact on their business over the last three months, but that this impact has been in the form of rising project costs (59%%), difficulties in planning (55%) and increased project lengths (49%)
as well as having to delay project starts (44%).
From these findings,
tradespeople are working round the issues posed by global
Looking ahead 95% expect workloads
to stay the same, increase or greatly increase
88% say material shortages
have impacted on their business in the last three months
6% expect to see a decline
in the amount of building materials they anticipate purchasing
20% anticipate new build
housing to be a key driver of growth
Some are using more suppliers (73%), others are using different brands (48%), some are buying materials earlier (41%) while some are sharing materials with other tradespeople. CEO Nick Roberts says: “Global supply and demand imbalances and a ‘perfect storm’ of multiple economies reopening post lockdown, combined with consumers with increased disposable income spending on their homes, have resulted in material supply challenges. “For customers, this has led to availability issues, particularly for timber, plasterboard and cement, although steel, copper and lighting have also been affected.” He adds that the report makes it clear that these shortages are now having a “significant impact” in the form of planning challenges, delays to existing projects and new project starts, but that customers are “rising brilliantly” to this challenge. They are increasingly proactively managing and working around these issues by planning further ahead and finding alternative solutions, such as new products and working more collaboratively. “This clearly demonstrates the strength and resilience of UK tradespeople, who make such a significant contribution to the national economy, so it is hugely encouraging to see their confidence in domestic repairs and maintenance as a continued key driver for growth in the months ahead.
“These findings are also testament to the strength of the ongoing recovery in the UK construction sector, particularly within the repair, maintenance and improvement market where the vast majority of the respondents (70%) see the bulk of their work coming from.” BMJ
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net October 2021
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