World-wide housing boom puts pressure on resources

Governments around the world are looking to the construction industry to build themselves out of the pandemic.

This has led to a shortage in supplies required to fuel the boom, and an increase in the cost of those supplies – particularly timber and iron ore, which are reaching record highs.

In Australia, the price of softwood has increased by up to 15%.  Local supplies have not increased, as there has been little or no investment in softwood plantations since the end of the last century, which combined with the global demand, means that the demand for imported wood is growing.  US supplies are at reasonable prices, but the cost of shipping to Australia makes our market less favourable.

The bushfires of 2020 are also affecting our supplies of timber.

The Federal Government’s HomeBuilder Scheme has not only contributed to the increase in demand, but also put pressure on the supply chain.

More on this at the ABC