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[September 2000]
Fuel Dispute Costs UK Construction Products Industry An Estimated £200m
The £30 bn construction products industry, which accounts for the largest volume of goods moved by road in the UK, is counting the cost of the disruption caused by this week's fuel blockades.
Michael Ankers, Chief Executive of the Construction Products Association, commented today that: "Whilst it took barely two days to cause major problems to our industry, with manufacturers and suppliers increasingly unable to move products and materials to construction sites or distributors, it will take far longer to get things back to normal. Although some of our members expect to be fully operational again by Tuesday or Wednesday, the majority think it will take at least until the end of next week.
"It will be some time before the full impact on our industry will be known. Initial indications, however, are that the cost in terms of lost output alone will be of the order of £200m, to which must be added the considerable drain on management time and resources.
"The industry will be reflecting on the lessons from the last week that might help minimise the scale of disruption should a dispute of this nature occur again in the future."
ENDS