Customers paying price for building materials shortage

Norman Piette chief executive officer John Bampkin said he was confident Guernsey’s building industry was adapting rapidly and customers understood the extraordinary circumstances the sector was dealing with.

‘The supply of building materials around the world has been impacted due to a variety of reasons including increased demand, haulage problems, staff shortages and more,’ Mr Bampkin said.

‘Although we are still seeing issues within some product areas, it is definitely improving as time goes on and we are confident it will continue to do so.

‘Norman Piette has only implemented price increases where they have been handed to us by our suppliers. Their costs are rising because of the increased demand on raw materials, transport costs and various other factors and, ultimately, they have to pass onto their customers.

‘We have seen some of our suppliers’ freight costs increase from $2,000 per container to $18,000, which is something we have not experienced as an industry before.’

Mr Bampkin said Norman Piette staff were working closely with their customers to avoid any potential issues.

‘We are adapting and learning as time goes on. We are encouraging customers to order with plenty of time and be aware of price increases when quoting.

He said many projects were going ahead as normal and some customers had altered their plans, choosing alternative products to keep within budget.

‘Our team is helping alleviate some pressure by shopping around for customers to make sure they get the products they need and jobs are not held up.

‘While it has been a frustrating time for the industry, and some projects have experienced delays, most are now catching up.’

He said Norman Piette’s customers had work booked through to the end of next year.