Supply Chain

No-deal Brexit ‘will bring large-scale price hikes’

Brexit uncertainty blamed as construction activity falls again

Trade bodies representing the providers of construction materials and equipment have warned a no-deal Brexit will lead to substantial price rises and shortages. Builders Merchants Federation chief executive John Newcomb said: “We need a deal with the EU. Without it, the impact of large-scale price increases across the industry and…

‘Share your failures as well as success’ in the fight against carbon

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As part of our inaugural Decarbonising Construction virtual event, an expert panel from across the industry shared the secrets to going green, and discussed how firms would be able to speed up the process

The Power Panel debate at the virtual conference was chaired by CN head of content Zak…

British Gypsum mine expansion approved

Tarmac concrete pour materials

British Gypsum has been given planning permission for a 91-hectare expansion of Fauld Mine in Staffordshire. The mine, at Newchurch, Burton, is the principal UK supplier of gypsum for use in the manufacture of cement. It supplies seven cement works. Plans were approved by Staffordshire County Council last week. The…

Equipment-hire firm to shut 134 branches

HSS suffers £85m loss in 2017 amid shake-up

Tool hire company HSS has announced the closure of 134 branches and made 300 staff redundant. In a statement released with financial results for the half-year ended 27 June 2020, the firm said around 30 per cent of its custom is now online, and online operations would receive further investment.…

Green construction language ‘must be accessible’

Carbon emissions

Advocates of sustainable construction must ensure the terms they use are understood by those they’re speaking to. Several panellists at Construction News’s Decarbonising Construction online conference warned that the use of jargon can be unhelpful when dealing with supply chains and the wider public, but stressed the need to try…

Cement makers ask Whitehall to fund carbon-capture tech

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Concrete and cement producers have warned the industry needs “robust financial support” from government “no later than 2021” to address the costs of developing industrial-scale carbon capture technology. The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has set out steps it says are required to bring overall carbon emissions from their products below…

Red diesel changes threaten industry’s recovery, trade body warns

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The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has called for the chancellor to delay tax changes to red diesel when he sets out his comprehensive spending review later this year. In a formal submission to the Treasury ahead of chancellor Rishi Sunak’s review, the trade body said the construction industry will still…

Materials body reveals predicted hit to recovery under no-deal Brexit

Brexit uncertainty blamed as construction activity falls again

Figures published by the Builders Merchant Federation (BMF) have revealed the extent to which the construction industry’s recovery could be hit if the UK's transition period out of the EU ends without a deal. The body, representing 751 merchants and suppliers with combined sales of £38bn, said it expects trade…

New port could deliver materials to central London sites by boat

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The new Port of Tilbury could be used to move offsite components made in warehouses into central London sites by river or rail, the commercial director of its expansion project has said. Tilbury2, a £250m port, built next to the existing Port of Tilbury in Essex, features a freight ferry…

Cemex strikes deal to cut cost of low-carbon cement

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Cement manufacturer Cemex has agreed a deal that will enable it to develop affordable, industrial-scale approaches to reducing the CO2 released by the cement industry. The firm outlined its plans to work with Carbon Clean, a UK-based pioneer of carbon-capture technology, to adapt the tech company’s modular carbon capture and…