New housing starts were down by 4.1% during the first month of this year largely due to ongoing supply chain issues, according to a new report just issued by the National Association of Home Builders.
The multifamily sector, at the same time, which includes apartment buildings and condominiums, saw a decline of 0.8%.
In a statement, Jerry Konter, NAHB chairman, remarked that “chronic production bottlenecks, including ongoing price increases for lumber and oriented strand board, continues to raise housing costs and harm housing affordability.”
The January numbers follow a November report issued by the NAHB showing a decrease of 0.7% in housing starts, also due largely to supply chain problems.
Another industry report, meanwhile, is predicting that a lessening of global supply chain problems is not expected to be seen until at least the end of this year.
Providing an overview of ongoing capacity shortages, higher freight rates, and port facility overloads, the publication Logistics Management notes that supply chain analysts are in general agreement that “pressure on the ocean freight market” will continue through the year, while “freight rates are unlikely to fall back to pre-Covid levels.”
The report additionally notes that the nation’s airports have also been impacted by supply chain challenges, challenges made even more difficult by processing backlogs, insufficient storage space, and labor shortages.
In its monthly Global Port Tracker, the National Retail Federation is noting that congestion remains an issue at ports on both coasts, and “as more ships arrive each day and delays mean some cargo won’t get unloaded until the following month, shifts in import patterns could be difficult to follow for the next few months.”
Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy with the Federation, remarked in a statement: “We’re not going to see the dramatic growth in imports we saw this time last year, but the fact that volumes aren’t falling is a clear sign of continued consumer demand.”
Gold added that a slowdown in cargo growth would actually be welcomed by many retailers as the supply chain “continues to adapt to these elevated volumes.”
By Garry Boulard
