By Sarah Macklin 
New research by IronmongeryDirect, the UK’s largest supplier of specialist ironmongery, has revealed the impact that the two-year materials shortage has had on the UK trade industry.
The study found that more than three-quarters of tradespeople (78%) have struggled to get the materials they need in the last year. Once these materials are eventually sourced, tradespeople are paying much more for them than two years ago.
This has resulted in a big change to the trade industry. Almost half (46%) of tradespeople have had to delay or turn down work as a result and nearly a fifth have had to let customers down after agreeing to do a job.
When asked which specific materials they’ve found difficult to find, the most common replies were paint (21%), timber (19%) and steel (17%).
| Number | Material | Percentage |
| 1 | Paint | 21% |
| 2 | Timber | 19% |
| 3 | Steel | 17% |
| 4 | Blocks | 14% |
| 5 | Bricks | 13% |
| 6 | Coatings | 13% |
| 7 | Semi-conductors | 13% |
| 8 | Plasterboard | 12% |
| 9 | Cement | 12% |
| 10 | Microchips | 12% |
It’s not yet clear when such a shortage could ease. In fact, more than one fifth of respondents said that they didn’t think it would ease any time soon and that they could be facing the same issues well into 2023.
So what exactly is causing such a shortage of construction materials?
Tradespeople seem to think the main cause is inflation, with 20% of those surveyed stating that record pricing has affected the supply chain. Other causes included COVID (17%), rising energy and fuel costs (15%) and the war between Russia and Ukraine (15%).
While the shortage has been felt across the industry, some trades have struggled to source materials more than others. The study found that plasterers (92%), surveyors (88%) and joiners (87%) have been hit the hardest.
Dominick Sandford, Managing Director at IronmongeryDirect, said:
“The materials shortage continues to be one of the industry’s main challenges, with workers across all trades finding it hard to source what they need to meet the demand for their services.
The impact is felt in many ways – financially, as many have had to refuse work as a result, but also personally, as our recent Mental Health in the Trades report found that the shortage is one of the main causes of stress for tradespeople in 2022.
In recent weeks, there have been signs of the situation easing slightly, so hopefully things will continue to improve as the year goes on.”
To see which materials each individual trade has found difficult to source this year, and how prices have increased over time, visit: https://www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/blog/how-is-the-materials-shortage-affecting-uk-tradespeople
