FORT Fencing
Agricultural & Equine Fencing
FORT Customer Update - August 2025
20 August 2025
Well, FORT has always been very straight about how we see things, so let’s get the gloomy bit out of the way first, because there’s also plenty to be cheerful about too!
The stark reality is that the construction sector is not in a great place at the moment. The indicators show that we’re in the midst of a slowdown.
UK construction work drops at fastest rate in five years, survey shows
Concrete sales plunge to 62-year low as hopes for Labour’s building boom fade
However, that’s a picture for the whole sector. Thankfully there are bright spots as well and ultimately most projects are big decisions for your Clients, so they want to feel secure that they’re worth going ahead with and are affordable.
August is peak holiday time and there’s been a very early harvest which all reduces demand, which will return once people are back in their usual roles.
The recent fall in interest rates are another welcome boost. As we’ll explain below in our summary, further rate falls look unlikely for a while, but they are blunt instruments that are applied to control inflation. If the general economy slows down we could well see further cuts. There’s plenty of headroom in the system to allow further cuts.
When speaking to architects and engineers it seems as if their enquiry levels have risen. That indicates an improving workload heading your way! Another indicator is demand for loose aggregates; they’re needed at the start of a project and our tippers are busier than they’ve been for some time.
So, let’s hope we can all see a decent lift in the final quarter of 2025, to cheer us all up!
There’s been plenty of sunshine here at FORT, but some of our customers have been taking a well-earned break during the school summer holidays and we always enjoy seeing the FORT brand being spread far and wide.
Above are a few images that we’ve been sent over the past couple of months, from Lulworth Cove closer to home, to a beach in Turkey, and even all the way in Las Vegas, USA.
We’ve got plenty of sand right here at home, though. And that’s just as well as our tippers have been busily running from yard and quarry to your sites all month with sand, gravel, topsoil and stone! Don’t forget that we can run loads of LOOSE AGGREGATES in our fleet of 3.5t and 11t tippers, as well as arrange 20t and 30t loads to get what you need, where you need it!
General Availability & Price Update
We mitigate price increases wherever possible, but we are seeing increases come through from our suppliers on a range of materials.
The FORT purchasing team are doing a great job of ensuring that we have stock on the ground and available, but as always, please forward-plan your requirement so that you aren’t caught short. The long-standing issues around flint blocks (very long lead time) and aircrete blocks (still on allocation from suppliers) continue, but we have plenty of stock of both.
The month of August is typically a difficult time for supply of certain goods, with European sawmills, quarries and factories shutting down for annual maintenance and repairs which restricts output and therefore availability. FORT’s team is aware and on top of these, with plenty of stock of roofing slate and timber, but just be aware and as always:
Please wherever possible price ahead of time and build contingency for price increases into tenders for the future.
Here’s our round up of data to help you track key indicators that affect all of us:
Timber
This is a chart for the US market. As you can see, rates rose, but fell back significantly during the initial tariff saga, before rising again, showing an increase of around 20% in the last year and this has been sustained. The European market remains dull but availability is tight. The European market remains dull but availability is tight. The talk around increased prices has now begun to turn into actual increases. Current rates are still unviable in the medium term and are bound to continue increasing. FORT are seeing increases coming through and expect that to continue.
Weather & Climate - The overall rainfall trend is still low. April 32%, May 56%, June 49%, July 90% of average rainfall. Let’s try and make the most of it! August has been very dry indeed. It’s hard to believe that we were almost underwater for most of 2024!
Currency - The £ has stabilised against the $ (around $1.36 = £1), which is a 2 year high point and this affects many items bought in $. It’s a different story with the Euro where the £ has steadied at around €1.15, from a high of €1.20. The Swedish Krown (which affects timber) seems to have settled at a new range around Kr 12.90 = £1 from a previous range closer to Kr 13.80. That is now a bit more ‘baked in’ and timber prices have adjusted accordingly.
Oil Prices - These have such an impact on costs; despite the Middle East situation, oil prices remain surprisingly low at around $63 whereas they were around $73 a few months back.
Containers - After a brief spike upwards, prices fell back and remain low. This affects goods from India (sandstone) and the Far East (plywood for example). It is an important indicator. The US tariff battle with China continues to cause disruption as the US stocked up in advance and is now working through that stock.
Steel - Steel prices had levelled then looked to be falling, but have steadied. A rough balance between su
Inflation/Interest Rates - This is the RPI figure and it fell to 2.7% in September, but has grown since then to around 4.4% and is stuck there; this is a concern. The pressure on inflation is keeping the Bank of England on its toes; the most likely way forward is slightly lower rates and we saw a 0.25% drop in early May and another in early August. The economy is not firing up, so further rate falls are likely, but inflation still lurks in the shadows!
As always, please do not assume stock availability - check with the sales office!
Our reputation relies on word of mouth and testimonials from our valued customers, and as such we'd love for you to share reviews of your experiences with us on either Google, Facebook or TrustPilot if you have the time.
Thank you very much for your ongoing support of FORT!
Best regards,
Matt, Tim & Keith
The Directors