Slowdown eases Gib shortage
Builders across the country say the plasterboard supply crisis is over because of a slowdown in the construction industry.
A drop in building consents and construction activity, combined with the supply of other plasterboard brands had meant the product had been easier to access recently than it had been in the last six months, they said.
Your Place Building director Josh Chapman said the plasterboard supply crisis was over for his firm, but so was the boom time for the construction industry.
‘‘Jobs that a month ago would have been a shoo-in are not going ahead. These jobs that are not happening are having a greater impact on the supply chain than anything else,’’ Chapman said.
In May the chief executives of Master Builders and the New Zealand Building Industry Federation said the sector was entering a downturn, as high costs and falling house prices made many projects untenable.
Chapman said the industry downturn meant plasterboard was now widely available, as demand for the product dried up.
The Government taskforce assigned to address the plasterboard shortage had made sure alternative plasterboard brands, Elephant Board, USG Boral, ProRoc and SaveBOARD, were approved under Building Code requirements for bracing qualities, so the brands could be exchanged for Gib.
Fletcher Building-owned Winstone Wallboard’s also put in place a Gib allocation system in which it allocated plasterboard stock to builders based on the date requested and the level of immediate needs.
A Fletcher Building spokesperson said the company was seeing ‘‘positive trends’’ that indicated its allocation model was working.
In May and June, 25% of builders that ordered Gib had delivery rescheduled to a later date between one to two months ahead.
By July this number had dropped to 18% and was continuing to ease, the spokesperson said.