UK builders merchant announces cement shortages

Travis Perkins is warning that around 40 per cent of its branch network does not have enough cement to supply UK customers.

Travis Perkins Chief Operating Officer, Frank Elkins, predicted that cement shortages were unlikely to ease before the end of the year. Lead times on bagged cement have extended from around two days to two weeks, and Travis Perkins was now looking at supply chains across Europe to source cement. Builders are being asked to place orders 4-6 weeks ahead to avoid supply bottlenecks on some product lines.

Mr Erkins said: "At present 207 of our 550 branches don’t have enough cement to supply all our customers needs... This is unprecedented in my 30 years in the industry. I have never known a time where we have so many product shortages at one particular time."

Travis Perkins last week raised prices across many products lines as higher input costs passed up the supply chain. This saw a 15 per cent rise in the price of bagged cement, a five per cent bump in the price of paint and a 10 per cent increase in the price of chipboard, reports Construction Enquirer.