UK building material costs soar on strong construction orders

Widespread shortages and wait times due partly to impact of Brexit and the Covid pandemic

A record surge in the cost of timber, bricks and steel sent construction industry costs soaring in May as new orders across the sector grew at the fastest pace in 24 years.

Severe shortages of essential building materials lay behind the increase in prices as the combined impact of Brexit and the pandemic caused supplies, many of them imported, to be held up on their way to the UK.