Carl Taylor: Combined Building Supplies CEO says most builders feeling fuel price increases

A nationwide survey by the Combined Building Supplies Co-operative has found that 84% of members have felt moderate to significant impact from fuel price increases. 

CEO Carl Taylor said some builders can't even afford to get to their work sites. 

"So, clients are obviously starting to look at pausing their projects, pricing becomes harder to lock in, and the confidence drops, and that's when the activity slows," he told Andrew Dickens.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from Newstalk zed B. Follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
And now the Impact of the War. Our builders are
warning the fuel costs are now hitting breaking point. A
new survey shows at eighty four percent of felt moderate
to significant impact in just the last thirty days. Travel
costs are up eighty six percent, freight up forty nine percent,
Supplies and materials also rising forty eight percent. Sixty percent
of builders are still absorbing that cost but it's coming

(00:37):
towards your pocket very soon. Fixed priced jobs are now
starting to push some companies under. Carl Taylor is the
CEO of the Combined Building Supplies COP and he's with
the SNAW. Good boarding to your.

Speaker 3 (00:47):
Carl, Good morning, Andrew.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
Are you calling this a breaking point? How close is
that point?

Speaker 3 (00:53):
Look? Yeah, we've got a lot of builders that are
generally concerned with their business, and you touched on those
numbers that we put out with our recent survey, and
so obviously you know, sixty seven percent off those members
of ours are absorbing those costs. But you know, I'm
hearing story from some of our members that can't even
afford to get to cite at the moment, which is

(01:14):
awfully concerning, particularly you know, when we're trying to create
as an industry affordable housing and it's getting to that
point where that's becoming quite hard to do.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Tell me about the builders who have, of course quoted
for a job before this crisis struck, and now they're
stuck into a fixed price contract and now, of course
the costs are going I mean, how much money are
they losing.

Speaker 3 (01:36):
Sook in some cases obviously there are fuel prices particularly
these will have doubled. So you know, prior to this
that they'll go out quote a job, fixed price contract.
They might have signed that contract now and obviously they're
trying to absorb that. They're having to absorb those costs,
which which again is causing issues with profitability with their business.
At the moment. Most of them are absorbing those costs,

(01:59):
but it's at a point now where they're either having
to carry it themselves because there's no clauses in their
contracts to be able to pass on those costs. And
that's probably where the concern is for the industry at
the moment.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
And people are starting to hesitate or delay their projects
and builders might not take things on because of these
decreased margins. The question is what can we do? Is
there anything we can do or just pray for an
end to the hostilities.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
Unfortunately, it's one of those things you've got to try
and crystal ball it. But what we see in the market,
particularly coming out of COVID the economy where the construction
economy was starting to really get back on its feet.
But what you start to see is hesitation. So clients
are obviously starting to look at porson their projects. Pricing
becomes harder to lock in and the confidence drops, and

(02:44):
that's when the activity flows. The only thing I would say,
you know, today is the cheapest time to build because
we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. But the
long term effect of that is at the moment, the
prices are going up and inevitably that's going to have
to be passed on to the homeowner at some point.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
Kyle Taylor, I thank you for your time.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
For more from News Talks that'd be listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you where
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio