The fuel crisis has been hitting all industries nation-wide incredibly hard in recent months, but the building sector in particular has been fighting an uphill battle, with every aspect of the building supply chain impacted. Not only are transport and delivery costs through the roof, but the cost of materials has risen significantly as well.

Steadfast Homes in Young is one such business feeling the brunt of these increases.

As a contractor and business owner of almost 35 years, Scott Lacey could see the writing on the wall about what the fuel shortages would mean for the Australian construction industry.

Building contractors work on a fixed-contract basis with clients, and with the recent price surges, regional builders such as Scott and his team, have taken on the brunt of absorbing those costs.

Initial price rises from supply companies came into effect shortly after the events in the middle east and the announcement of impending fuel shortages. At the time, these price increases ranged anywhere from a 3 per cent increase upwards to 15 per cent for some materials.

Since then, Scott has seen even greater increases in the cost of materials across the board. Some prices have increased as much as 40 per cent.

Inflated costs have also impacted the heavy machinery required for builds such as cranes and cement trucks, with those prices skyrocketing as well. All of which has added exponentially to the pressure felt by smaller, regional businesses like Steadfast Homes.

“We’re affected more greatly due to the rural transport and logistics issue,” Scott said.

But because of locked-in contracts, businesses have no choice but to absorb these added costs. The result, Scott explained, is builders are being hit extremely hard financially.

“By the end of it, from some of these jobs the takeaway is basically nothing,” he said.

Transport costs have also been a major issue, with the bulk of NSW vehicles running on diesel, which has seen the greatest price surge overall. These costs are likely to get even worse, especially as the end date to the government’s three month fuel excise approaches.

Since being implemented on 1 April, Australians have been saving around 26.3 cents per litre on fuel. But with the fuel excise ending after 30 June, the concern is prices will immediately return to the $3+ per litre prices they were before. Leaving contractors in worse condition than when they started.

In spite of these increased pressures, Steadfast Homes has been operating business as usual, to ensure current contracts go ahead and operations are managed as cost effectively as possible under the circumstances.

“It’s important to keep moving forward. Currently times are a bit tough, but you can’t compromise on the way things are don,” he said.

“Everyone in construction is doing the best they can to give fair prices right now, without passing off all these added costs to clients. Right now, it's time to consolidate and work with what we’ve got. In the end, we’re all weathering the storm together.”