Concrete shortageslows construction
By Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 6/1/1998
Newton, Mass.--Concrete is pouring slower than molasses in Houston, Tex., these days, causing delays in the construction market and wrinkles in the entire distribution chain.In the midst of a construction boom, Houston's contractors are facing a concrete supply shortage created by a web of interrelated factors. The year's unseasonably dry weather has allowed contractors to work a longer season and cement manufacturers are having difficulty meeting the resulting increase in demand. Also, a continuing bottleneck in Houston rail yards, resulting from the 1996 merger between Union Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Railway Corp., has held up building material shipments.
"It's a combination of all of those (reasons)," says Vic Vogt, branch manager for Shepler's, a commercial and industrial construction supplier. "It's been going on for several months but it's really gotten bad in the last couple of weeks."
As one of the first steps of a construction project, when a concrete pour is delayed all other phases of construction get placed on the back burner...and so do supply orders.
"The shortage delays the projects," says David Bourdon, Houston-area sales manager for Prime Equipment Co. "The concrete is the first thing that goes down. If the guys can't pour concrete, then they can't put the steel up and if they can't put the steel up then we can't sell them forklifts."
The effect of the concrete shortage is that many construction projects have taken on a stop-and-go production schedule that is difficult for distributors to forecast.
"What really affects us is when the contractors can't get their ready-mix concrete on time," Vogt says. "We furnish so much to the contractors that we have a hard time meeting their schedules because the orders pile up on us when we have several contractors making pours at the same time."
Neither Vogt nor Bourdon have spoken with contractors who have not been able to get concrete at all; the main issue is timing.
"It's not like the contractors are not getting concrete, it's just a matter of not being able to get it when they want it," Bourdon says. "If they want to pour on a Tuesday, they may have to wait until Thursday or Monday, which slows their job down."
So far, Bourdon's business has not been adversely affected. "There is so much work going on that there are other projects in more advanced stages that we supply," he says.
Vogt is confident that the shortage will not completely shut down construction in the area. "I look for [the shortage] to spread everywhere in the state," Vogt says. "But I don't think that it's going to get too out of hand. When they start canceling projects I'll be worried."
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