Feature Article /
Dec 7, 2021

Material Tracking: Info on Shortages and Delays

material tracking of residential building products

The state of building materials in residential construction, and indeed the state materials in all industries around the world, is currently best described as precarious. Prices for and availability of myriad products are frequently shifting, making how to sell and prepare for projects a moving target. Over the past several months, we have attempted to chronicle those changes to help keep our readers informed and ready for change. Please find below a seleciton of those articles. 

 

HOW HOME IMPROVEMENT CONTRACTORS ARE HANDLING MATERIAL SHORTAGES AND PRICE INCREASES

DEC 20, 2021

While reported job delays are down, material shortages, cost increases, and the frequency with which home improvement contractors are experiencing those two challenges are all on the rise, according to PRO Home Improvement Monthly Tracker for November published by The Farnsworth Group and Home Improvement Research Institute. In light of those challenges, the report showed that contractors are experimenting with both new materials and the means by which they secure them. 


BUILDING MATERIAL AND PRODUCT SHORTAGES, CHANGES IN PRICE 

NOV 15, 2021

The problems surrounding the purchase and procurement of residential building materials and products have escalated and proliferated to such a degree that there is hardly a supply chain left that hasn’t been impacted. As of May, shortages in 21 product categories were impacting more than half of builders—in some cases, the impact was nearly universal. 


THREE WAYS BUYING BUILDING PRODUCTS HAS CHANGED

NOV 1, 2021

The report covers an array of topics, from how relationships with suppliers have changed to the product categories in which brand shifts have most occurred. The following are three findings particularly relevant to professionals in the residential construction industry. 


paint has a price problemPAINT'S PRICE PROBLEM

OCT 7, 2021

Painting a room was the home improvement project that even a novice DIYer with a low threshold of confidence was willing to take on during the onset of the pandemic. Many did and the resulting robust demand for paint took the supply chain by surprise. Now consumers might push putting a fresh coat on their walls to next year as the price of a gallon of paint has climbed and their favorite color might not be available.


Metal roofing and other types of building materials are 10 LARGEST PRICE INCREASES BY BUILDING PRODUCT

SEPT 13, 2021

The price of residential construction products (as a group) from January to July of this year rose at a rate more than double that of all products, according to an analysis of the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index (PPI) data by the National Association of Home Builders. During those seven months, steel mill-produced products saw the most extreme increases, rising more than 80%—considerably more than the 11% increase the product category experienced in 2020—but several categories saw dramatic increases.  


8 PRODUCTS TO HELP CUT LABOR NEED AND COST

JULY 29, 2021

Ten years ago, labor wasn’t really a concern in residential construction, at least not for much of the industry. Only 13% of builders at the time (2011) considered the cost and availability of labor an “important concern,” according to data from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Yet, today, and really since 2016, it’s residential construction’s preeminent challenge.


MATERIAL PRICES TO WATCH

July 21, 2021

NAHB in partnership with Wells Fargo released recently its July Housing Market Index, and the results of its survey (in which builders rate certain market conditions) while promising compared to sentiments from the previous year, do reflect a slight dip in confidence that the index’s authors attribute directly to rising materials costs.


ARCHITECTS SAY MULTIGENERATIONAL HOUSING AND BACKLOGS ARE SURGING

JAN 13, 2021

The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) fourth quarter survey found an increase in homes designed for multiple generations under one roof, in addition to a growing desire for porches.