BEAMA Statement on material availability relating to Cable Management Products
19 July 2021
Further to the original BEAMA statement issued in December 2020 and the subsequent follow-up in April 2021, this further update is to maintain communication during this challenging period with the UK construction industry supply chain, in respect of the availability of raw materials associated with the manufacture and supply of bothmetallic and non-metallic cable management systems (CMS).
The leading UK manufacturing companies of CMS (who are also members of BEAMA) originally indicated that they were experiencing manufacturing capacity restraints caused
by the deteriorating availability of the types of steel and plastics used in the production of cable management products from their stockholders.
The lack of raw material, which is a widespread global issue, was initially caused by a dramatic worldwide reduction in the production capacity, during the early part of 2020, caused by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Since the middle of 2020 demand for the types of steel and plastics used in cable management products, together with many other applications both in the UK and the rest of the world, has greatly increased as businesses attempt to recover from the disruption to meet increasing general demand and to complete unfinished projects.
The result was that demand far exceeded supply. This effect was forecasted to continue well into 2021 and the shortage of essential raw materials would inevitably affect the availability of finished products. However, with the ongoing increased demand and competition for the same materials from other industries this situation remains, resulting in raw material supplies failing to match the demand. Supplies of materials are coming through but continue to be on long lead times. We envisage that this situation will continue into Q1 2022, coupled with the continuing issue of increasing raw material costs. Other factors faced by the industry include shipping challenges coupled with the shortages of timber and cardboard used for packaging.
BEAMA members would like to acknowledge the assistance received from their industry partners over the past months in terms of project planning support. We would also reiterate the continuing need for distributors and installers to engage with manufacturers as early as possible in respect of ongoing CMS requirements.
Whilst manufacturers remain acutely aware of the many other external pressures on our construction industry partners, it is considered essential to provide this update to allow for good project planning by individual operators.
BEAMA is the leading trade association in the UK representing manufacturers in the electrotechnical sector which includes cable management products. www.beama.org.uk
This statement can also be download by clicking the link on the right hand side of this page.
