FORT Fencing
Agricultural & Equine Fencing
FORT January Newsletter - 2024
14 January 2024
Christmas seems such a long time ago and now January is speeding along. Thankfully the awful weather at the start of the month has abated, but it has left a huge amount of water, small amounts over the coming weeks will soon top it up again.
Sadly for many people there has been a significant loss of property and this will add to the workload for many contractors. We’ve added this to our data because it does help to frame just what you are dealing with.
While we all concentrate on winning work and looking after clients, world events do have an impact and the awful situation in the Middle East is adding to uncertainty. You’ll see more on that below when we report on container prices. Availability has been excellent for some time now, but we are likely to experience difficulties again on some imported products. Sandstone is likely to be affected (it’s a heavy, volume intensive item that is shipped from Asia) and some other items will also have problems.
But we also need to remember the positives - inflation is falling dramatically and mortgage rates are reflecting future predictions. Sub 4% mortgages are available (with terms applied). Unemployment is still extremely low and with a General Election looming there’s likely to be a few sweeteners around that might spark some energy in the housing market.
The general consensus among our Customers is that there’s still plenty of work around; there’s also more competition as trades move from large housing sites into the improvement sector, but hopefully there’ll still be enough to go around.
So, we wish everyone a very happy, healthy 2024. We hope it is a busy one as well.
General Availability & Price Update
Our roundup of key indicators is shown below
Weather & Climate
As you can see from this link, rainfall is around 138% of the average over the last 4 months and these are generally rainy times, so it’s no surprise to find that we’ve seen extensive flooding.
Currency
The £ is still holding up well against the $ and the Euro. This is helping to shield us from some of the rises in oil prices(see below). The Swedish Krown is still relatively weak but has strengthened in the last month. This is relevant because a large amount of timber comes from Sweden.
Oil Prices
We’ve added this in, because it has such an impact on costs and as the issues in the Middle East develop this will need to be watched. We saw prices rise sharply in early January but at the time of writing they have fallen back, which indicates that shipping through the Suez Canal may be returning to more normal patterns.
Containers
We’ve watched these rates drop for many months and now they’ve shot back up, almost doubling in the last few weeks. Some of that cost will be down to ‘realignment’ as containers are out of position, stuck on vessels taking the long route around the Cape. There will bean impact on price and availability for some products.
Steel Bar
Steel rebar prices appear to have come off their lows and are starting to rise a little. The Middle East issues have not made any impact yet. It’s another indicator of general construction activity and seems to be showing improved demand.
Timber
We can see that the US lumber market has started to harden a little, but is still at relatively low levels. The European market is still weak but underlying pressures are increasing and it seems hard to believe that prices will not increase during 2024.
Inflation
The UK governments promise to halve inflation has been achieved and the high of around 13% is now down to 5.3% (end of November) and still falling. Base lending rates remain at 5.25% but mortgage bonds are showing offers at around 4.5%, underlying pressures remain and lower rates are far from certain
FORT Kitchens
This month we want to bring forward our kitchen offering to our customers, FORT supply the elegant kitchen range by English Rose. Not only units and cabinets, we can help you find the right appliances, worktops, sinks & taps for your kitchen space.
English Rose kitchens offer a wide range of door types, colours and finishes. In our showroom here at FORT, you can see clear examples to visualise exactly what you’re looking for. Are you looking to revitalise your kitchen space or do you have a new build in progress? Try FORT Builders’ Merchant today.
You can contact us by clicking this link to speak with one of our friendly team who will be on hand for any advice, help or general enquiry.
FORT Turns 4!
This month we want to bring forward our kitchen offering to our customers, FORT supply the elegant kitchen range by English Rose. Not only units and cabinets, we can help you find the right appliances, worktops, sinks & taps for your kitchen space.
English Rose kitchens offer a wide range of door types, colours and finishes. In our showroom here at FORT, you can see clear examples to visualise exactly what you’re looking for. Are you looking to revitalise your kitchen space or do you have a new build in progress? Try FORT Builders’ Merchant today.