The Productivity Partnership held its second materials workshop in Wellington on 15 July, in association with the Building Industry Federation. It was attended by representatives of the construction materials sector.
The purpose of the workshop was to share information about the construction intentions of clients in Canterbury to ensure that the materials supply chain is suitably prepared to meet upcoming demand. It also provided the materials supply sector with the opportunity to better inform the Government on the materials required for the Canterbury rebuild.
Estimated requirements for materials for residential repairs for the residential sector were presented by Phil Healy of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). These were based on the MBIE standard methodology for house sizes and per metre square costing, and the BRANZ standard house model. Data collected by CERA from insurance companies and Programme Management Offices (PMOs) shows that 173,000 properties require work. Of these, 23,000 are major works (11,500 are complete rebuilds) and 150,000 involve minor repairs. Materials are estimated to account for 29% of the total cost of the residential rebuild in Canterbury, amounting to nearly $4 billion.
Feedback from the workshop was that these projections are helpful but more detailed analysis of requirements is needed that specifically addresses house requirements in Canterbury. This includes variances from the BRANZ standard house model. As a result of the workshop, MBIE is doing more work to fine-tune estimated requirements with Building Industry Federation members. Comment was made that labour supply is more likely to constrain the rebuild than the availability of materials. However, it was agreed that advance information that gives materials suppliers lead time to gear up to meet market requirements is valuable.
Another materials workshop is planned on 7 August and will focus on both residential building and commercial construction.