According to recent research by Think Timber, a strategic partner to the timber staircase sector, the UK staircase industry faces a concerning capacity shortfall of almost one-quarter to meet the government’s housing target—to build 1.5 million homes by 2030.
Think Timber gathered data from all the UK staircase manufacturers to compare current, maximum and required output to produce and supply 300,000 staircases annually, unveiling an alarming gap in the industry’s resources.
With the construction sector already handicapped by the lack of skilled labour, rising costs and industry politics, these findings indicate the goal is unlikely to come to fruition. While the government has attempted to respond to these issues by launching Skills England and investing £140 million into New Skills Hub—a programme which will deliver fast-track industry training—more systematic change is needed.
Gav Brown, Managing Director at Think Timber, shares his insight on the industry data. “A staircase is one of the most essential elements in a home,” he said. “Even though they’re used daily, stairs continue to be overlooked when discussing housing supply. By collaborating with other staircase manufacturers to calculate our industry’s capacity, it was quickly made clear how farfetched Labour's goal truly is."
Behind the scenes when building a home, on average, around 20 different suppliers, mostly SMEs, are needed to build one single house, all playing a crucial role in new housing development.
Gav continues, “Even though Think Timber’s research may only focus on the shortage of supply in the staircase industry, it certainly points to the wider difficulties within the housing supply chain as a whole.”
As the government pushes forward with its ambitious housing goals, rising costs—from increases in National Insurance employer contributions to the upcoming Building Safety Levy—will add thousands of pounds onto the total of building each new home, sending a ripple effect through the supply chain and piling pressure on SMEs, resulting in many being left behind.
Gav says, “With a shortage of skilled labour and constantly rising costs, many smaller businesses, like ours, are facing significant pressure. UK manufacturers, in particular, have been hit with input price inflation rising to a two-year high, leaving some businesses with no other solution but to stop production and shut down. And while the need for new homes is certainly real, and setting an ambitious goal may feel like the solution, currently as an industry, it feels like we’re being set up to fail. Businesses are closing down, and no new entrants are replacing them—the industry supply chain is becoming narrower by the day.
“If we were to receive sufficient support from the government, such as contract guarantees for SMEs or available grants for increasing workforces and training, this would enable the industry to not just meet the quantity but the quality of UK homes.”
As the nation navigates its way through the housing crisis, the need for greater collaboration between the government and the smaller links within the supply chain is essential. This will ensure SMEs have the right support in place, creating a resilient supply chain and the delivery of high-quality homes.
