In the past few years the construction industry has certainly faced its fair share of challenges, largely due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy.
For builders of all sorts, that’s meant navigating a range of issues including increased material costs, labor shortages, and disruptions in supply chains, making the launch of new projects more complex than before.
The world of pole barn construction was not immune to these issues.
As the effects of the pandemic continue to wane, it’s still a new world for building post-COVID.
With 2024 just around the corner, what should pole barn builders expect?
Let’s dig in.
2024 & Post Frame Construction: What to Expect
Ideally, 2024 will continue the return to pre-pandemic normalcy with all COVID-related issues becoming a distant memory.
Unfortunately, that won't happen entirely.
Looking at 2024, projections are a mixed bag of news for post frame construction, with many still rooted in the ill effects of the pandemic. Across several key components of pole barn construction, there’s a mixture of good and not-so-good news.
- Material costs
- Labor issues
- Supply chain shortfalls
- Inflation
1. Material Costs
This one is a mixed bag.
Driven largely by inflation and demand, building material prices are expected to increase nominally overall by 2-4%. While no increase is a good increase for prices, considering recent history with material price surges, the anticipated hikes aren’t nearly as bad.
Materials such as concrete and drywall are forecast to see price hikes because of things like availability. Other materials, including insulation and roofing, should see prices stay where they are for the most part.
For pole barn construction, costs for steel and lumber are expected to continue their trend of staying below pandemic highs with a peppering of some hikes. A welcomed reprieve from their peaks in 2021, at the end of this year, steel prices are at their lowest levels since 2020. The same goes for lumber prices.
However, steel prices are expected to be volatile during 2024 and follow market trends. Lumber prices are anticipated to increase a bit, too, based on demand.
Again – both key materials of a post frame building are expected to stay well below pandemic peaks.
2. Labor Shortages
Now for some not-so-good news.
Labor shortages are expected to continue to plague all industries, construction included. In fact, it's one of the biggest projected risks to the building industry in 2024.
This should come as no surprise – labor shortages have been part of doing business during most of the pandemic. In 2022, the year started off with industry experts estimating a 650,000 gap in the workforce. It's poised to continue as older members of the existing workforce start to retire throughout the next decade. Analysts predict the industry will need to attract an additional 342,000 workers in addition to normal hiring to meet demand.
What does this mean? That's simple.
Pole barn construction companies should anticipate dealing with some holes in their workforce and potentially paying higher wages.
3. Supply Chain
One of the biggest challenges brought by the pandemic was supply chain bottlenecks that delayed raw materials and finished products from reaching their final destination. In some cases, those bottlenecks were outright traffic jams that increased lead times and delayed projects.
Though economies are still in recovery mode to some degree, supply chains for the most part have resumed operations. And while more stable, supply chains still remain unpredictable and highly reactive.
Your best bet? Keep a close eye on materials and keep in contact with your supply chain partners.
Key factors affecting the post frame building supply chain in 2024 to watch include:
- Fuel prices
- Worker shortages
- Recession fears
- Political instability
Simplify Pole Barn Design & QuotingFind out how SmartBuild systems streamlines these two elements of pole barn construction:
|
4. Inflation
Back to the expected good news for 2024.
Economic fallout from the pandemic coupled with other world events (e.g., the war in Ukraine) made life tough with inflation driving prices up on goods and services across the board. For consumers and businesses, contending with higher prices meant prioritizing spending. Thus, new construction projects may have been put on the back burner.
While it's a bit more tricky to predict, economists do anticipate inflation to continue easing up during 2024.
Reduced inflation benefits pole barn construction in two ways:
- Construction costs (materials, labor, etc.) are not as burdensome.
- Pole barn projects are a more palatable investment.
As We’ve Seen It
While inflation is difficult for any business or consumer, if a pole barn is needed, it’s needed. In other words, sometimes a pole barn is a necessity. Despite inflation, we’ve seen many of our partners completing plenty of projects for the commercial and agriculture sectors.
Heading Off 2024's Challenges Affecting Pole Barn Construction
While it's nearly impossible to predict exactly how 2024 will play out, a pole barn builder can take one important step to add more stability to their business – partner with a material supplier.
Working with a post frame building materials supplier helps your company meet several challenges head-on.
Having an established relationship with a materials supplier gives your business access to vital building components at competitive prices. Material suppliers often purchase raw materials in bulk, opening the doors to savings for their partners.
Partnering with a reliable materials supplier means that when supply chain issues arise, the headache of working through them isn’t yours – it’s theirs. Moreover, if something should happen that impacts production or delivery times -- say, an extreme weather event -- an experienced supplier works with you to ensure a smooth transition back into regular operations.
Finally, by partnering with a building components manufacturer, pole barn builders can rest easy knowing the impacts of inflation cost fluctuations are minimized. By having a supplier as a partner, your business can take advantage of more reasonable prices and make decisions based on more accurate estimates for project costs.
Ultimately, partnering with a reliable building materials supplier gives your pole barn construction business a competitive edge, regardless of the year.
Outlook 2024 | Making the New Year Your Best Year
It's important to keep in mind that while some challenges may be faced by the construction industry in 2024, there are also a number of positive indicators that suggest a healthy year for businesses. By keeping an eye on key factors and partnering with a reliable supplier, pole barn builders can mitigate many potential risks and ensure their business remains strong throughout the year.
Reap the Benefits of an Experienced Materials Supplier
Explore our partnership program:
