If there's one issue that's remained a global problem since the pandemic, it's a shrinking labor pool.
It's no secret that employers from all sectors – from medical to financial and service to higher ed – are having trouble filling open positions.
The construction industry is far from immune to this.
Whether you're a builder or a building materials supplier, the problem hits the same: A lack of workers makes for difficulties in completing a job or fulfilling an order.
While there's no silver bullet to meeting adverse market conditions, having elements of your supply chain reinforced – no matter where you fall in the construction industry – never hurts.
Regardless of market conditions, prefabricated building components help mitigate the issue of labor shortages and make sure any order is fulfilled or project is completed within schedule.
A Look at the Building Supplies Market
Though better than the last three years, the 2023 building supplies market was still expected to be tenuous.
In line with recent history, material and transportation costs remain high, while supply chain issues and changing building codes make for continued headaches. And of course, the labor shortage persists.
Across all facets of the construction industry, the labor shortage continues to take its toll. The Home Builder's Institute's Spring 20223 Construction Labor Market Report estimates that there's a shortfall of 723,000 workers in home construction alone.
Things are poised to remain the same in the immediate and long-term future. Consider these other findings:
- The number of open construction sector jobs currently averages between 300,000 to 400,000 each month, although this total is now slowly decreasing.
- The median age of workers in construction is 42. However, due to aging trends, the share of construction workers aged 25 to 54 decreased from 72% in 2015 to 67.7% in 2021.
- At least 90% of single-family builders responding to the October HMI survey reported a shortage of subcontractors in each of the three categories of carpenters, and 80-85% reported a shortage of subcontractors in other trades.
Working Around Construction Labor Shortages
No matter where you fall in the construction industry, seeing your business experience the ill-effects of the labor shortage is the last thing anyone wants. Not only does it cost your business time and money immediately, but it also sets the stage for future problems.
One of the best ways to navigate around labor shortages is by working with prefabricated building components manufacturers. Prefabricated components not only make it easier for builders and suppliers to meet tough markets on their terms, but also offers added benefits such as:
- Higher quality products
- Design flexibility
- Improved turnaround times
Let's take a look at how manufactured building materials benefit builders and those who supply their projects.
For the Builder
Adding a prefabricated building component to your project in a way, adds to your labor pool.
How?
Prefab components, such as wood roof trusses, floor joists, or wall panels, reduce the amount of on-site work. Rather than building the structural elements from scratch at your project's location – something that requires a larger crew of workers – your team only has to worry about installing the pieces as they arrive.
Not only are prefab structural components made off-site by the manufacturer's workforce, but they are also delivered to a project's schedule and easily installed. From a planning perspective (something that's paramount to a project that's operating in less-than-ideal conditions) knowing what to expect and when to expect it makes a huge difference in keeping momentum moving forward.
Ultimately, this means that a builder can get by with a smaller workforce as fewer workers are actually needed.
And with fewer workers, there are some residual benefits hard to ignore:
- Lower payroll
- Relief from job benefit expenses
- Not carrying as much liability insurance
For the Building Materials Supplier
The story is very similar.
Like the builder, adding a prefab building materials manufacturer to your roster of partners helps you do more with less.
Rather than purchasing the precision equipment and tools used to make prefab components and investing time and money to train them to make the products, you're able to tap into the existing workforce and resources of your partner.
More succinctly – their workforce becomes yours with none of the overhead.
After working with a client (the builder), your job is simply to place the order and be ready to receive it when it arrives for distribution.
Completing More Projects & Satisfying More Customers
Perhaps the biggest benefit to any builder, framer, general contractor, or building material supplier is the economies of scale manufactured building materials bring. More specifically, the ability to complete more jobs or serve more customers.
For the Builder
Consider traditional (stick) building methods (essentially building from scratch).
Though tried and true, stick building requires significant amounts of people and materials to complete a job.
More importantly, building from scratch requires more oversight. Not only are you managing the people needed to complete a job, but also the logistics of getting raw materials and supplies – and having them exactly when needed.
But add in delay in sourcing with an already reduced staff and a project that was already operating under tight margins of time and money takes longer and likely costs more.
With prefab components helping you optimize your construction schedule and the efficiency of your crew, you're able to get projects done just as fast – if not faster. There's a compounding effect with that: the sooner a project is done, the sooner you move onto the next. What's more, you're likely able to add more projects to your schedule.
For the Building Materials Supplier
Though construction projects are in many ways similar, they're all still unique. What works for one or is required might not for another.
While it's impossible to offer every option possible for every possible project, partnering with a prefab building components supplier allows you to expand your offerings with a minimal investment.
Another way: The more expansive their capabilities, the bigger your product portfolio is to meet client needs.
And as most prefab component manufacturers' products are made for each other, you're able to sell complete packages of complementary structural products that help builders improve their project efficiency.
Working Within the Labor Shortage
Though the labor shortage may not be going away anytime soon, you don't necessarily have to suffer its full effects.
With manufactured building materials, builders and materials suppliers can continue meeting tough market conditions while still meeting client expectations.
Make the Labor Shortage (Almost) a Non-issue
Contact us today to add prefab building components to your project:
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