Since the latest fire doors quarterly trends survey was completed supply difficulties have become the single biggest problem for the industry. “The problem stems from the difficulty which some manufacturers have found in obtaining plywood facings and hardwood lippings,” said BWF chief executive Richard Lambert.

“Traditionally, the main source of these components is Indonesia, which has been placed under great pressure recently to ensure the legality and sustainability of its timber products,” he said. “This has led to the world market regarding much of what was supplied formerly as potentially illegal, with only a limited amount of product guaranteed as legal and sustainable currently available. We think this is the first time the joinery sector has had to deal with a major shortage of supply generated by the pressure for sustainable timber.

“As a result,” continued Mr Lambert, “these manufacturers have been trying to obtain sufficient supplies to maintain production, developing alternative production specifications and identifying other certified sustainable materials. These will require further fire testing and certification, which inevitably takes time, but we have been assured that the current situation is temporary and should be resolved within the next few weeks.

“Some of those affected by the shortage are considering importing doors from other parts of the world to resolve the immediate problem. Anyone contemplating this should ensure that they verify the quality of the product carefully before committing themselves. The need to overcome an immediate supply difficulty should not mean resorting to the use of sub-standard fire doors. A fire door is not just another door; in a fire, it is a precision engineered safety device. Compromising on safety now as a short-term expedient could lead to far greater problems in future.”

The latest timber fire door survey assesses the timber fire door market in terms of the percentage of manufacturers experiencing a particular business trend (for example, a sales rise) over those experiencing the opposite, expressed as a net balance. On this basis, a balance of 42% of manufacturers sold more timber fire doors in April to June 2006 compared with January to March 2006 (see chart 1).

Year-on-year sales were also up with a net 29% of manufacturers reporting higher sales in April to June 2006 compared with the same period of 2005 (see chart 1). Of those reporting increases, most (90%) saw increases of 10% or more.

Orders for timber fire doors also increased, with a balance of 29% of manufacturers reporting fuller order books compared with three months ago.

Expectations are also positive, with a net 17% of manufacturers forecasting better sales in July to September compared with April to June. A balance of 33% also anticipate better sales over the next three months compared with the same quarter last year (see chart 2).

Despite the supply situation, a quarter of manufacturers interviewed are more optimistic now about the overall prospects for the timber fire door market than three months ago. Few took a pessimistic view.

Forty-one per cent of timber fire doors sold over the last 12 months were in fire doorsets. Most manufacturers (79%) continue to sell fire door frames and 63% supply additional components – for example, fittings for fire doors. The majority of manufacturers (83%) advise customers which components to use for fire doors.

On balance, 67% of manufacturers reported an increase in purchase costs of materials compared with three months ago. However, a net 25% of firms also increased their selling prices to counter the rise in costs.

The main problems facing manufacturers in April to June were supplier price rises (58%), margin squeeze (54%) and price cutting in the market (42%). However, the single biggest problem affecting manufacturers over this period was supplier price rises, mentioned by 17% of respondents.