Shortage of Materials in German Construction Worsens Drastically
The materials problem on German construction sites has worsened. In building construction, 43.9 percent of companies reported in May that they were having problems procuring construction materials in time. This is up from 23.9 percent in April and just 5.6 percent in March, the ifo Institute reports. Civil engineering was slightly less affected, with 33.5 percent in May. In April, only 11.5 percent of the companies in that sector had reported bottlenecks. “Capacity utilization in the industry is still high, but supply bottlenecks are causing worries for more and more companies,” says Felix Leiss, a survey expert at the ifo Institute.
“Rapidly rising prices of raw materials are creating problems for the industry. Lumber prices have virtually exploded in recent months, and sawmills can’t keep up. Steel, too, has become significantly more expensive. Insulation materials and various plastics are also in short supply, according to industry sources,” Leiss says.
