PBC Today investigates how the escalating conflict between Iran, the US, Israel, and others will affect the UK construction industry
Middle East tensions are all over the news again, and like most things, will have an impact on the UK construction industry.
Here we take a quick look at how workers and business owners might expect it to affect their work.
Increasing oil prices means higher costs
It need not be said that the construction industry is an energy-intensive one, with fuel needed for everything from the production of materials and deliveries to powering cranes and diggers.
According to Reuters, following Israeli and US strikes on Iran and the following retaliations, prices for both oil and gas jumped up, with Brent crude oil rising 13% a barrel, and US crude oil jumping up 6%. Meanwhile, the European gas benchmark rose by over 40%.
In the Construction Leadership Council’s Zero Diesel Sites route map, they say that the UK construction industry used 2.5m tonnes of diesel alone, to give an idea of how much costs of operations could rise with gas and oil.
Higher costs for shipping
The UK is not as vulnerable in this category as it could be, but will still be affected. Much of our construction material imports come from either Europe or the US, however, one must look further along the chain at the raw material imports.
With routes including the Suez Canal, Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait being affected by the conflict, the shipping of raw materials including Alumina, and manufactured parts like steel components, will be higher in cost due to the increased risk.
This will likely see further inflated costs for construction materials, or even shortages if severe enough.
The post How are tensions in the Middle East affecting UK construction? appeared first on Planning, Building & Construction Today.
