Supply chain affects materials choice
This is a part of the
Concrete, steel and timber
feature
The last year has been an interesting one for market share of building materials as changing preferences and availability issues due to supply chain constraints influence market share.
BRANZ UNDERTAKES regular surveys to determine how the market for various materials is changing over time. These are our current estimates of the market share for the most common building materials in the standalone housing market in New Zealand. The focus is on the major components – wall framing, wall cladding and roof cladding.
The BRANZ Materials and Characteristics Survey remains one of the few sources of building material use over time. The survey started in 1998 and collects information on materials and characteristics based on consented construction work.
Wall framing
Timber remains the dominant wall framing material in the market with a share of 86% (Figure 1). Its share has consistently been in the high 80% to low 90%. Most of these houses are using radiata pine framing. However, Douglas fir, LVL and solid timber are also used frequently.
Concrete framing and other framing types have been trending upwards over the last couple of years.
Wall cladding
In the wall cladding market, shares have been a lot more variable, particularly as supply issues have impacted the choice of cladding in some instances.
Clay bricks were the most used cladding material in 2021 with a share of 34% (Figure 2). Timber had been the most common cladding material in 2020 with a 35% share but fell to 20% in 2021.
Roof cladding
In the roof cladding market, sheet metal remains the preferred roofing type in New Zealand (Figure 3). Its share of the roofing market currently sits at about 70%.
Roofing tiles have decreased slightly in share over the last 3 years to 22% in 2021. Other roof claddings include membrane roofing and various shingle options.
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Articles are correct at the time of publication but may have since become outdated.
