Gilbane sees slivers of hope for material, supply chain woes

Abstract

Dive Brief: There may be a sliver of good news for contractors as supply chain woes, material price escalations and long lead times for key construction components have begun to improve. Jay Pendergrass, director of supply chain management and equipment at top 11 contractor Gilbane, issued some upbeat notes in his latest Market Conditions Report looking ahead to the second half of 2022. "We have seen measures of supplier performance, delivery times, backlogs and shortages are showing some improvement," Pendergrass wrote in a report issued July 6, highlighting a softening of commodity prices, including for copper, steel and lumber. "As we move into the back half of 2022, tighter financial markets, slower growth and a continued improvement of supply bottlenecks could lead to a further retreat in commodity prices and an easing in goods price inflation for many equipment and materials," Pendergrass wrote. Some market observers and economists have argued that inflation has already peaked, due to demand softening and some supply side issues being straightened out. Pendergrass's market measures provided at least some more data points to support that perspective. While deliveries are still delayed across the board, prices have stabilized for copper, glass, steel and stainless steel pipe and fittings.