As the price of wood rises, more and more builders are considering cold formed steel (CFS) as an alternative to lumber.

People are naturally demanding more living space following the Covid lockdowns, after spending so much time living on top of each other. During the lockdowns the retail market saw a huge increase in demand for DIY materials, as home improvement projects rocketed worldwide. This contributed to the current shortages we are experiencing in lumber.

In this blog post, we take a brief look at what the current COVID-19 market conditions mean for construction demand, and how you can use FRAMECAD’s latest equipment releases and updates to succeed in times of uncertainty and, dare we say it, growth.

The demand for construction is not letting up. In fact, some experts are predicting a post-Coronavirus construction boom. Which is great news for the industry. But are you ready to use this to your advantage? During times of growth, uncertainty or change, the most successful businesses are those who adapt to meet the demands of the market.

Currently markets are asking for faster construction, particularly to support the healthcare sector and related industries. The ability to design and manufacture quickly and efficiently is key to your continued success. But as recent events have shown, these demands could change. A re-focus on hotel, multi-family, or commercial projects, in addition to medical-focused modular and pod solutions could be just around the corner.

The key to future success is ensuring your business is future-proofed to meet the coming market demand, whatever that looks like.

The impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the world’s people, businesses and economies could not have been predicted even just a few weeks ago. The situation in most countries remains fluid and changes almost daily. At FRAMECAD we’re continuing to monitor this and adapt our operations accordingly.

Fighting the spread of COVID-19

The global FRAMECAD team have now successfully transitioned to working from home, in accordance with recommendations from governments and healthcare authorities around the world, in order to prevent spread of the COVID-19 virus.

The entire team remains committed to providing ongoing and uninterrupted service for you. FRAMECAD continues to be available to keep your business fully operational.

As technology improves, so do construction techniques - often in ways that can be complex to understand. With so many burgeoning trends and methodologies, it can be challenging to decide which opportunities are worth the investment needed to properly evaluate and implement, and which are not.

Modular construction is one such technique that is worth considering. Industry experts have identified it as one of the key drivers of growth in 2020.

Globally, skilled labor shortages are making it difficult to adequately staff projects and deliver quality work. In the same vein, poor productivity is another notable challenge for the construction industry, which is often unfavorably compared to manufacturing where significant efficiency gains have been made (an average of 1% global labor-productivity growth in construction compared to 3.6% for manufacturing, according to McKinsey.)  

Combined with the increasing pressure to adhere to ever more stringent health and safety requirements, and protect workers in increasingly complex environments, it’s easy to see why many companies struggle to stay competitive and profitable. Yet advances in technology are changing the way we work and can help companies overcome these challenges – here’s how.