Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 8:19 am
Fencing contractor mate of mine was interviewed on BBC radio last week - the fencing panel shortage is getting quite serious now....
Are any of you struggling?
From the Telegraph......
A chronic shortage of European timber has led to a national dearth of fencing panels, leaving the UK's hardware chains and gardeners scrambling for materials at the height of the DIY season.
Travis Perkins and B&Q, the DIY retailers, have virtually no traditional "lap" fencing panels left and are struggling to cope with unprecedented demand. Panels are now being offered to shoppers on the black market for up to £80 each, a fourfold mark-up on their normal £20 asking price.
Some retailers are offering old and weather-beaten stock to irate customers, some of whom have waited weeks for goods to be delivered.
advertisement
Store groups cite three reasons for the shortage. Timber suppliers in Scandinavia, Russia and the Baltics - from which the UK sources most of its wood - are diverting their supplies to China and Dubai, where construction companies are prepared to pay more for the stock.
This comes on top of already depleted softwood log supplies, caused by a wet summer last year in central and northern Europe. Finally, high winds in the UK in January and February damaged thousands of fences across the country, causing higher-than-usual levels of demand for panels. Travis Perkins, the builders' merchants, is experiencing a 300 per cent increase in demand on last year.
Hilary Baker, chief executive of the Fencing Contractors Association, has warned that several small and medium-sized timber suppliers in the UK - who convert the European softwood into fencing panels - are "on the verge of ruin".
She said that the shortage of panels has led to panic buying by DIY enthusiasts. "It's a bit like a bread shortage. Joe Public goes out and buys loads. I spoke to one contractor who normally stocks 3,000 panels and now he has none. Someone else drove 60 miles to buy one fencing panel. It is absolutely crazy."
Forest Garden, one the UK's largest fencing wholesalers, has a backlog of 25,000 fencing orders. Kingfisher, the B&Q owner, said that the retailer is still receiving weekly supplies of lap fence panels, but added that these are selling out "very quickly".
Some DIY stores are becoming so protective of what little stock of fencing panels they have that they are refusing to release it to other stores within the same chain.
The price of raw materials has increased by 30 per cent due to the shortage. Timber from Russia is also subject to a new export levy imposed by Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. Cargo freight rates in general have also risen, exacerbating the problem. On Friday the Baltic Exchange's Dry Cargo Index, which tracks the cost of shipping goods, hit a record high of 6,230 points.
The FCA's Baker said that the biggest underlying problem is the construction boom in China and the Middle East. "Those regions are practically rebuilding themselves from scratch. Almost all the raw material is going to them." She added: "It has got the point where ships are being diverted between ports when Chinese construction companies put in a higher bid for the wood.
"For customers, the frustration is growing daily. They are causing the panic at the moment."
Are any of you struggling?
From the Telegraph......
A chronic shortage of European timber has led to a national dearth of fencing panels, leaving the UK's hardware chains and gardeners scrambling for materials at the height of the DIY season.
Travis Perkins and B&Q, the DIY retailers, have virtually no traditional "lap" fencing panels left and are struggling to cope with unprecedented demand. Panels are now being offered to shoppers on the black market for up to £80 each, a fourfold mark-up on their normal £20 asking price.
Some retailers are offering old and weather-beaten stock to irate customers, some of whom have waited weeks for goods to be delivered.
advertisement
Store groups cite three reasons for the shortage. Timber suppliers in Scandinavia, Russia and the Baltics - from which the UK sources most of its wood - are diverting their supplies to China and Dubai, where construction companies are prepared to pay more for the stock.
This comes on top of already depleted softwood log supplies, caused by a wet summer last year in central and northern Europe. Finally, high winds in the UK in January and February damaged thousands of fences across the country, causing higher-than-usual levels of demand for panels. Travis Perkins, the builders' merchants, is experiencing a 300 per cent increase in demand on last year.
Hilary Baker, chief executive of the Fencing Contractors Association, has warned that several small and medium-sized timber suppliers in the UK - who convert the European softwood into fencing panels - are "on the verge of ruin".
She said that the shortage of panels has led to panic buying by DIY enthusiasts. "It's a bit like a bread shortage. Joe Public goes out and buys loads. I spoke to one contractor who normally stocks 3,000 panels and now he has none. Someone else drove 60 miles to buy one fencing panel. It is absolutely crazy."
Forest Garden, one the UK's largest fencing wholesalers, has a backlog of 25,000 fencing orders. Kingfisher, the B&Q owner, said that the retailer is still receiving weekly supplies of lap fence panels, but added that these are selling out "very quickly".
Some DIY stores are becoming so protective of what little stock of fencing panels they have that they are refusing to release it to other stores within the same chain.
The price of raw materials has increased by 30 per cent due to the shortage. Timber from Russia is also subject to a new export levy imposed by Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. Cargo freight rates in general have also risen, exacerbating the problem. On Friday the Baltic Exchange's Dry Cargo Index, which tracks the cost of shipping goods, hit a record high of 6,230 points.
The FCA's Baker said that the biggest underlying problem is the construction boom in China and the Middle East. "Those regions are practically rebuilding themselves from scratch. Almost all the raw material is going to them." She added: "It has got the point where ships are being diverted between ports when Chinese construction companies put in a higher bid for the wood.
"For customers, the frustration is growing daily. They are causing the panic at the moment."
