FORT Fencing
Agricultural & Equine Fencing
FORT May Newsletter - 2024
15 May 2024
What a difference the sun makes! There’s been a marked increase in enquiries; the collection yard is always busy and our Customers are flat out – surely a hosepipe ban must be imminent?!
The government has announced a general election on the 4th of July which may slow down some decisions on projects as people wait to see what changes are on the horizon, but the UK economy is reporting growth ahead of previous reporting; interest rates are being held; property viewings still seem to be improving and in very general terms we seem to be in a more positive position than this time last year.
The downside is people on fixed mortgages coming up for renewal and having to pay far more.
A summary of all that is: Generally, Things Could Be A Lot Worse!
Our underlying concern is still around availability and prices. If this improvement in demand continues, the impact of factory closures and capacity reduction will create inflation. We all hear reports, even now, of severe skill shortages and that will increase, especially over the summer holidays. Please take care when quoting forward – there’s not much slack in the system and that is only likely to reduce even further.
Here at FORT we continue to evolve, with some new arrivals on the staff and more product lines being added. We said a fond farewell to Steff Kington who has left to embark on a new culinary adventure, but the aggregates business remains a source of strength and pride for us here at FORT; a new tipper is on order and should be with us in the summer, so keep your eyes out for that! We held another showroom event with our bathroom and wall panelling supplier reps in-house showing customers what FORT can offer on these fronts, as well as live demonstrating the installation of a bathroom. Come and have a look when you’re next in the showroom! We’re just putting together final plans for an exciting FORT Summer Spectacular event too which will run over the course of the summer sporting calendar to include the Euro 2024 football championships and Olympics, as customer are invited to come and test their dart throwing capabilities to win top prizes. More on that to follow once things are finalised!
General Availability & Price Update
Weather & Climate
As you can see from this link, the rainfall has been incredible – Jan 102% of average; February 242%, March 202%, April 132%. May is currently at 100% of average and we have actually had a few decent sunny days. Building weather has finally returned!
Currency
The £ remains stable against the $ Euro and Swedish Krown (which is very weak).There’s a view that interest rates will not move much, if at all.
Oil Prices
We’ve added this in, because it has such an impact on costs and as the issues in the Middle East develop this will need to be watched. Brent & WTI Oil Futures Price & Updates - BBC News At the start of the year the price was $78 and is now about $83; that’s about a 7% increase.
Containers
After the surge caused by terrorist action in the Gulf, as expected shipping readjusted and container prices fell, but they remain high in comparison to the past year or more (about 40% higher).General demand has increased and as you can see, prices have risen.
Steel
Steel prices have fallen a little over the last year, but are fairly settled. There seems to be a rough balance between supply and demand.
Timber
This is a chart for the US market.The last month has seen a significant drop in lumber prices. The European market is still not firing up but there are reports of increased demand as the weather improves.
Inflation
Inflation has fallen dramatically and is now probably closer to 3.0% (around 4% at the end of March). This is still ahead of the ‘plan’ (2%) and more worryingly it doesn’t look to be falling much further. That will limit base rate reductions and thereby lower mortgages.
All-new range of Ox Tools & Gorilla Products NOW IN STOCK!
We have a fantastic new range of OX Tools products available in our shop. OX Tools, a leading supplier of construction tools, hand tools, woodworking tools, spirit levels, diamond tools, trowels & plastering tools for the building industry. FORT now stock an impressive amount of materials from their range, pop in store and grab all the tools you need for your project!
Not only that…
We now stock Gorilla Glue, a range of tough glues, tapes & sealants that are recognised for their strength, reliability and flexibility, these products will not let you down. Shop for the range at our front counter.
Browse through our full range on our website, simpy enter what you're looking for in the search bar above or use our dropdowns to get to the right page!