Concrete supply chain challenges impacting construction jobs
This is prime construction season around Ohio; however, we are seeing problems in the concrete industry, and it could get in the way of work.
It’s a busy season for Knickerbocker Pools.
Dave Kramer, general manager for Knickerbocker Pools said, “Demand is extremely high.”
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He said the Xenia company usually has 10 to 12 crews out at a time.
“We build a custom vinyl liner swimming pool,” Kramer said.
And that means job sites for swimming pools need concrete, but that’s where Kramer said there’s a problem.
“The main issue we seem to be having is scheduling issues,” Kramer said.
He said he used to be able to call concrete companies a day ahead of time. Now, he believes because of labor shortages, he needs to do that three, four, five days in advance.
“It just means you have to be better prepared, better projecting out, trying to forecast obviously with weather. Trying to better project out and unfortunately with weather, that’s hard to do,” Kramer said.
On Wednesday, Ohio Concrete, a trade association that represents the concrete construction industry sent a letter to its 200 member companies, talking about supply chain issues in the state.
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The letter said raw materials, including cement, are becoming difficult to get. And that these supply challenges could have a very negative impact with the construction industry in Ohio.
Paul Gruner, Montgomery County Engineer said, “Cement has become one of those issues. When you have a high demand, it eats up the quantities available.”
He said it also makes concrete more expensive.
“We had to re-bid one project because the bids came in too high, and the concrete was one of the factors.” Gruner said.
And this all comes at a time when both Gruner and Kramer know there are plenty of jobs that need to get done.
“People are still building. The demand for construction is high,” Kramer said.
Ohio Concrete told its member companies that the supply challenges could last the rest of the year.
