Lead times January-June 2007

01 — Going up

• Cladding – curtain walling
• Roofing – profiled metal
• Facade cleaning equipment
• Brickwork
• Mechanical packages
• Concrete works
• Escalators
• Internal stone wall and floor finishes

02 — Staying level

• Rotary and precast piling
• Structural steel frames
• Natural stone cladding
• Membrane roofing
• Blockwork
• Drylining
• General joinery
• Specialist joinery
• Architectural metalwork
• Decorative wall covering
• Electrical suppliers
• Data and voice cabling
• Logistics
• Raised floors
• Gas-fired boiler rooms
• Air-conditioning plant
• VAV units
• Uninterruptible power supply
• Switchgear
• Generators
• Controls
• Hard landscaping

03 — Going down

• Cladding – reconstituted stone
• Atrium roofs
• Suspended ceilings
• Demountable partitions
• Soft floor finishes
• Passenger lifts (non-standard)
• Ductwork
• Sprinklers

04 — Lead times summary

Rotary (no change) and precast piling (no change) lead times have remained at seven weeks and six weeks respectively. Early signs of increases in mobilisation time are being absorbed in the programme. Lead times are predicted to rise.

The lead-in for structural steelwork (no change) remains at 14 weeks for contractors that have partnered with steel suppliers. However, there is an increase in lead times for spot market purchasers. Contractors are predicting an increase in lead times for the next quarter.

Reconstituted stone cladding (down) lead times have fallen by one week to 27 weeks because of a drop in manufacturing time. Natural stone cladding (no change) remains at 16 weeks. Curtain walling (up) has increased its lead time for the third quarter, adding eight weeks to bring it to 48 weeks. Lead-in times are not predicted to increase further.

Atrium roofing (down) lead times have dropped back to 25 weeks, although there is potential for this to go back up in the next quarter.

Profiled roofing (up) has risen to 19 weeks, whereas membrane roofing (no change) remains at 10 weeks with no changes forecast.

Facade cleaning equipment (up) is going through a busy period, a five-week increase in lead times putting it at a high of 35 weeks.

Brickwork (up) and blockwork (no change) are reporting a busier period, with an increase in brickwork lead-in to six weeks, while blockwork remains static at four weeks’ lead-in. No change is forecast for the next quarter.

Drylining (no change) lead times remain at nine weeks with no change forecast.

Lead times on demountable partitions (down) have dropped by one week to eight weeks and order books are expected to remain consistent.

General joinery (no change) remains at 12 weeks and there’s no movement on the lead-in of specialist joinery (no change) at about 16 weeks. The availability of timber from sustainable sources is improving.

Logistics (no change) lead times remain unchanged at six weeks.

The slight increase for the past two quarters in suspended ceilings (down) has fallen back to the previous average of 15 weeks.

Architectural metalwork (no change) lead times remain at 13 weeks as materials become readily available.

The average lead-in for suppliers of decorative wall covering has remained at four weeks for the past 12 months and the order books are forecast to remain steady.

Internal stone and wall finishes (up) has increased by four weeks to 20 weeks, while soft floor finish (down) lead times have been reduced to six weeks.

The average lead time for non-standard lifts (down) has fallen to 39 weeks, although standard lifts can reduce this lead-in by about 15 weeks. The supply of escalators (no change) remains unchanged at 20 weeks despite a buoyant market.

Electrical suppliers (no change) lead times remain at 23 weeks, while mechanical suppliers (up) report 20 weeks’ lead-in, a rise of four weeks.

A cut in manufacturing time has dropped the lead-in time for ductwork (down) by one week, taking it to seven weeks. Lead times for sprinklers (down) have fallen from 10 to nine weeks.

Data and voice cabling (no change) remain at six weeks.

Hard landscaping (no change) lead times are seven weeks, but a forecast increase in order books indicates an increase in lead times.

A strong market is extending the lead time across 20% of the packages, a number of which are experiencing big increases of several weeks. While 17% reported a decrease, all are relatively small – typically one week. Lack of skilled staff and trained managers is the main labour issue. The forecast for the next quarter is for continuing strong order books, but most packages are confident at maintaining current lead times.