At Fenton Plant Machinery we are ready and waiting for construction industries that are getting back to work.
There is no doubt that Covid-19 is having an impact on the construction industry as well as every other industry worldwide. But while the world waits for the lockdown measures to gradually ease there is a certain amount of uncertainty around how the economy will re-start. We are hopeful that there will be a spike of business activity in the purchase of used plant machinery, but with most industries we are waiting to see how Covid-19 has impacted the construction industry.
In order to get a picture of how Covid-19 has impacted the construction industry, on the 26th March, Constructiononline introduced a new questionnaire set to understand how COVID-19 was affecting their members, their businesses, and their staff. Over 4,000 businesses have completed the new questionnaire set so far, giving Constructiononline a great insight into how the industry is coping during this pandemic. You can see this set of questions here.
Reason to be optimistic?
Over the last few months, the government has repeatedly reiterated how housing, construction and infrastructure will be at the forefront of its political agenda. In the lead-up to the winter election, for example, Boris Johnson promised to build a million news homes by 2025. Similarly, both Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid offered a huge amount of investment in the sector over the course of the current parliament. Understandably, the health crisis has led to these promises becoming lesser priorities.
The government cannot be blamed for this — massive investment and focus will be required to combat the pandemic. However, the chronic imbalance between supply and demand in the UK’s housing stock persists and cannot continue to be overlooked.
As such, it will be necessary for the government to support the construction industry over the coming weeks and months with regular consultation and a continuous dialogue. Doing so will go some way to reassure firms about their plan for construction after the crisis abates, when a housebuilding revolution can commence. After all, demand for new housing will only continue to rise, and only with forthright government leadership and investment will the UK be able to meet it.
At Fenton Plant Machinery we are ready and waiting to play our part in getting the construction industry moving again, whatever used plant machinery you are in the market for, visit Fenton Plant Machinery, or give us a call.
