Supply Chain

A lack of low-carbon materials on the market is making it harder for the construction industry to reach net-zero carbon emissions, according to a survey carried out by Balfour Beatty. The company surveyed 175 construction industry suppliers for the study, which has been released ahead of the COP26 climate summit,…

Fifty firms have been appointed to a new £3.6bn National Highways road-renewal framework. Major tier ones including Kier, Galliford Try and Morgan Sindall have won places, with the programme set to run for six years. The values of projects that will be awarded via the agreement will range from £1m…

Winner: Sabre Jetting Services Hydro-demolition specialist Sabre Jetting Services says its commitment to learning and development is not limited to legal requirements and technical training, but also encompasses “soft skills, leadership and mental health awareness”. “Sabre has gone beyond all expectations. It has developed a training and development programme for…

Housebuilder Weston Group has launched its British Offsite operation with £35m backing. A new factory will be built to supplement one in Braintree, Essex, which Weston opened in 2019 to produce light gauge steel panels for its offsite system. The company claimed the new factory could deliver 4,000 homes per…

Builders merchant Jewson has warned customers that prices could go up by as much as 20 per cent on some items in September. It said “unprecedented” price increase in sealants, adhesives and chemicals was pushing prices of related products up by between 5-20 per cent. “These increases are the result…

Workers for Hanson Cement could go on strike over a below-inflation pay offer, Unite the Union has warned. Union members that include around 200 lorry drivers and engineers have rejected a 2.5 per cent pay offer. Unite said the offer amounted to a “hefty pay cut in real terms” due…

Construction activity slowed in August, as the tight availability of materials affected the volume of work, the latest IHS Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index shows. The index posted a score of 55.2 in August, down from 58.7 in July. A reading above 50 indicates work levels are still increasing, but August’s…

The national shortfall in haulage capacity has become the biggest concern for suppliers of construction materials and builders’ merchants, according to data collected by the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF). The trade body said a snap survey of its members found 67 per cent of builders’ merchants and 86 per cent…

The price of some imported timber has jumped 23 per cent in just one month. The price of imported sawn or planed wood jumped by more than a fifth between June and July, according to the latest data provided by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The…

The availability and cost of labour and materials is the biggest challenge facing subcontractors. Three out of five firms said the increasing cost of raw materials and delays in deliveries were “significant threats” to their businesses, according to a survey carried out by Bibby Financial and consultancy Gateley Vinden. Just…