CV and mad panic behaviour

[kruddler]

I've family, friends and associates in the building industry.

They aren't really constrained by the lockdown, they are constrained by the lack of available materials. That is the main reason they are working at reduced capacity, they would be flat out on new builds if they could get materials. Home renovations and small refurbishments won't help as the small jobs are at the very back of the queue for obtaining supplies, and changing the lockdown state won't fix that problem. It's the lack of material supply from overseas that is the problem, there are local suppliers, but the big boys have sucked up all the local materials at a premium price the bulk of the industry won't or can't pay!

I've another associate that is a hardware importer, mostly fixtures and fittings(furniture) for doors and windows, etc., etc.. They have containers and containers of stuff stuck somewhere between China and Australia, typically Singapore or Hong Kong, waiting for ships to be released from quarantine. They are so desperate they have started having containers unpacked by hand and sending urgent quantities by air, this drives the cost through the roof so end users buy less and less.

The next thing that will happen is that the small builders on fixed contracts are going go belly up, because they are stuck on terms they can no longer meet, and changes to the lockdown do nothing to help them.

I'm in the building industry and what you say has some merit, but not entirely true.

Yes, reduced numbers does make a difference. On bigger sites its limited to 25% of normal capacity, how they determine what normal is i'm not sure as numbers vary dramatically depending on what, when and how they are building.

For the smaller sites, normal residential housing, they are limited to 5 on site plus a supervisor. This can also have a dramatic affect on building....again, depending on the stage they are up too. Its not uncommon for there to be double that on site if not more. Clearly, half as many people means things are taking twice as long.

Yes, the shortages are certainly hurting the industry. Timber shortage has been going for a year now and the quality of builds will suffer as a result in my opinion. Can't get 90x45 anywhere unless you are a big builder, so 90x35 it is, which is obviously less structurally sound. There are rules and regulations you need to follow, but i guarantee not everyone is. I wouldn't like to be buying a new house right now. Its not just timber, but many overseas items, usually more high-end stuff, but not limited too.

Personally, i haven't been too affected by Covid up until recently where i opted to take holidays to limit the people on site. Thankfully i had enough holiday pay, although i'd struggle of the xmas break. Ultimately, this happened to coincide with me changing jobs to a new role which will be largely unaffected as its a bigger company. So good timing all round.

So the construction industry has been restricted, without being crippled. Some might argue its similar to the hospitality industry that are allowing take away only. Or retail that are allowing click and collect only. The biggest difference between those industries is that the building industry generally doesn't have to cover the rent of a brick and mortar store, whereas the others usually do. THAT is what is crippling the industry. Give some kind of rental exemptions and we won't be seeing so many stores close.

Everyone's situation is different.

Its easy to tarnish a whole industry with 1 brush, but the construction industry is so vast and varied that you'd need a Phd to work out if you were allowed to work or not. You simply cannot stop the entire industry.
What happens if there is burst water pipes? Leaky gas pipes?
Power gone out?
Broken window?
Leak in the roof.....or no roof at all in mid construction.
What happens if something is not structurally sound?.....or due to weather/storms becomes not structurally sound?