Status: 08/30/2021 10:34 a.m.
According to an ifo survey, the supply of materials on German construction sites is improving slightly. But the experts are still far from being able to give the all-clear. The situation in the flood areas is critical.
The lack of material on German construction sites eased somewhat in August. This is the result of a current survey by the Ifo Institute. 42.2 percent of the companies in building construction stated that they suffered from a material shortage. In July it was still 48.8 percent.
According to the Ifo experts, the situation is also easing somewhat in civil engineering. Accordingly, 31.4 percent of the companies suffer from delivery bottlenecks. In July the value was still 33.9 percent.
The overall picture has tended to improve, but the situation is still serious in the areas affected by the flood: “The flood disaster in July triggered new upheavals locally,” says Ifo researcher Felix Leiss. “In August, reports were received from North Rhine-Westphalia in particular that the events had exacerbated the material shortage. The proportion of companies affected there is now noticeably above the German average.”
Consequences for the construction prices
Despite all the improvements, the supply remains very tense overall, says Leiss: “Many preliminary products are still scarce and expensive, especially insulation materials and steel.
This has consequences for price developments: “The bottleneck is driving construction prices, especially in building construction,” says the ifo expert. Many companies reported price increases there. Almost every second company in building construction is also planning further increases soon. Price increases are also planned in civil engineering, albeit much less frequently.
The shortage of skilled workers is causing additional concerns for the construction industry. “Currently every third company complains about problems in finding suitable personnel,” says Leiss.