Crippling cement shortage in St Elizabeth, Manchester

MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Cement retailers in Manchester and St Elizabeth are struggling to meet demand because of what they say is a sharp dip in supply by the east Kingston-based Caribbean Cement Company.

Several hardware stores in Manchester and St Elizabeth said yesterday they had no cement in stock, with others limiting each customer to 10 bags.

Customer service representatives at eight hardware since this week and that was Wednesday,” Slowley said on Friday.

Like Redman, Slowley said the shortage of cement has had a negative impact on the sale of everything else.

“It is affecting my sales. My sales have gone down extremely because cement is what drives the hardware industry, and without the cement no one doesn’t really wants to buy the other supplies because [cement] is at the centre of the equation in all that you are doing. Without the cement you have no hardware,” he stressed.

Slowley said the shortage started about a month ago.

“This has surfaced somehow since the first part of September, but it has got worse down to this point. This week has been the worst for me,” he said.

Slowley told the Sunday Observer that he received one truckload yesterday but that it isn’t enough to supply the demand.

“I received another truckload this morning [yesterday], but I can tell you that this has already been allotted out and I need more. I am actually running behind, because there is an outstanding amount that is there for customers,” he said.