Shortage of Construction Materials

If you’ve been reading any business articles lately, you may have read about the shortage of construction materials. It’s a very real problem affecting not only the roofing industry but it’s impacting the entire construction industry nationwide. This has created havoc in every aspect of the building industry. First off, just being able to perform certain jobs has become nearly impossible for most. Second, when limited amounts do trickle in, the cost of these building materials are astronomical. This has become such a matter of concern that it was even covered recently on several news channels.

Why Is There a Shortage of Construction Materials?

Back when the Covid 19 epidemic struck early in the year, panic struck our nation. Our company was no exception when it came to the shortage of construction materials, and like the rest of the industry, we had no idea it would last this long. Luckily, our keen management team decided to fill our storehouses with building materials earlier in the year, as we were afraid that the supply chain could be broken to some degree.

The day after we discussed this, we took action and we literally had semis in line looking to unload into our barns. For a regional roofing company, this was a big undertaking. We loaded everything to the ceiling and waited. Oddly enough, a major hail storm hit the Mason, Holt, and Lansing area, sending an enormous amount of emergency work our way for roofing, siding, windows, and deck work. So there went our strategy, as much of this was used to repair these homes. Our stockpiles shrunk immediately. Since then, we have done our best to maintain.

Obviously, we were not the exception in this case as this was and still remains a nationwide issue. Pretty much every type of material has had a lag at very best. Certain things, like windows, which a very labor-intensive with assembly workers needing to be right with one another are at the point in some cases, that we cannot give any type of delivery time. Compound that with dozens of homeowners on install lists, when they do finally start to arrive, brace yourself for a labor deficiency that this industry has never seen.

What We Are Doing to Combat The Shortage of Construction Materials?

As our company is a fairly large regional company, with heavy buying power, we have received favor from many suppliers. As grateful as we are, that goes only so far. We cannot predict when our industry will be out of the weeds.

The reason I am writing this article is really to shine some 3^rd party light between homeowners and contractors caught in the middle of the pileup. Nearly every day we receive calls from folks in our area frustrated with one of our competitors, and the lack of performance. Of course, many will be quick to agree with the homeowner’s frustration and completely throw that company under the bus, in an attempt to snipe that or other future work from that homeowner.

This is simply wrong. We make it a point to defend those companies caught up in the mess and give the homeowner a sigh of relief to some degree. In many cases, they were not expecting honesty, but as the old adage goes, it is always the best policy! Let’s all work together through these never-ending tough times, we all deserve a fair shake and if you have any further question about how this might affect your upcoming job or you’re just curious, give us a call at (517) 627-7999 drop us a message on our contact us page.