It is safe to say it has been a turbulent few years across a variety of sectors. With the ongoing pandemic, uncertainty around Brexit, and the war in Ukraine. Pressures on the supply chain both in the construction industry and across the UK economy have resulted in many contractors rescheduling their development projects. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has reported that construction output suffered a 40.2% collapse in April 2020. With the pandemic behind a 30.3% decrease in new work and a 28.9% decrease in repair and maintenance.
In 2017, the then chancellor Philip Hammond set a target of building 300,000 houses a year. Then 2019, the Conservative manifesto was to “increase the number of homes being built”, stressing the need to move towards more homeownership. However, with these targets, the competition for materials is more competitive than ever. At the beginning of 2021, the government published the outcome of its ‘Future Homes Standard’ consultation. This demonstrated a huge change for both the UK housing market and the construction industry. Stating that “all new homes built from 2025 will produce 75-80% less carbon emissions”.
Construction Industry Forecast
The insight and intelligence experts Glenigan, within the construction industry, have released their wildly anticipated ‘UK Construction Industry Forecast 2022-2024’. This focuses on the challenges and economic conditions across the next three years.
Their analysis “highlighted a 23% increase in the time typically taken for a project to progress from detailed planning consent to start on-site to 21 weeks, from 16 weeks in 2019.” They state that “overall project starts are forecast to slip back by 2% this year. The current spike in inflation, higher taxes, and rising mortgage costs are expected to constrain activity in consumer-related areas, such as private housing, retail, and hotel & leisure”.
However, they report a future “stabilisation in project starts” and “material availability issues for many products are expected to ease over the remainder of this year.” In 2021, “projects with a construction value of less than £100 million” were up by 23% in comparison to 2020.
Mac’s Trucks Help The Construction Sector
As a long-established company spanning nearly five decades, we pride ourselves on our best practice, innovation, and professionalism. We are able to offer our customers complete control of crafting their ideal vehicle and assisting in any aftersales care thereafter.
We offer a wide range of trucks to help the construction industry move forward with projects. We can accommodate both your new and used truck needs within your fleet. Representing a range of sizes from 7.5 tonnes across a range of key brands. Including Scania, DAF, Volvo, Mercedes, and Iveco across a range of budgets. Our range includes crane trucks, beavertails, skip lorries, and tippers to name a few. Contact us today to expand your fleet as the construction industry recovers.
