"There is now clear evidence of significant and sustained UK construction market growth," said Stuart Hex, general secretary of TIMCON.
"This latest information on the construction sector comes after the Markit/CIPS UK manufacturing PMI report for August which identified that purchasers are paying more for packaging and timber," he continued. "Specifically, pallet timber and wooden pallets were identified as items up in price."
"The increasing prices of UK pallets and packaging has to be viewed in the context that, especially for pallet manufacturers, the UK timber supply industry now has a dominant market share as supplies from other markets, such as the Baltics, have significantly declined and prices are currently higher as suppliers are diverted to other markets and due to the currency fluctuations.
Mr Hex added that UK and UK and Irish sawmills are now extremely busy and that there was a concentration on construction timber, which generates higher added value.
"There is particular concern about the availability of non-standard sizes, which are less attractive to the sawmills at times of high demand," he said.
