Craftsmen are unable to meet the many requests for repairs after the bad weather that affected France. In question, a shortage of tiles.
Many roofs have recently been destroyed due to bad weather in different areas in mid-June. Despite the high demand, the repairs are being carried out in a context of shortage of tiles which penalizes both the victims and the professionals in the sector. “On is forced to tarp in an emergency and put on weights, but many requests for repairs are refused, so as not to make customers wait 6 or 9 months», Explains a manager of a Bordeaux brand, who wished to remain anonymous.
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A crisis that does not date from yesterday
This shortage is the result of several factors, the first being the health crisis which kept the production of many factories stopped during the confinement. “ Tile shortages date back to long before bad weather. With the Covid-19, the production lines were completely stoppedsums up the Bordeaux manager.
Since then, manufacturers have tried to catch up. According to figures from the French Federation of Tiles and Bricks (FFTB), deliveries made during the year 2021 were up 15.1% compared to 2020. A slight increase of 1.7% in deliveries is also observed over the first 6 months of 2022 compared to the previous year.
Added to these tensions are the recruitment problems that craftsmen have been facing for several years. “The staff is sorely lacking. We’ve been looking for it for 4 years and we can’t find it. There is a great lack of training and incentives for younger generations to work in the crafts sector», Analyzes the roofer.
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“For artisans, there is nothing left”
Faced with these shortages, professionals in the sector must take measures: trim their margins, increase their prices or even place their employees on partial unemployment. “I even know bosses who have put their employees on leaveobserves the craftsman. The FFTB also reports that manufacturers are seeing fewer and fewer returnable pallets coming back to them, intended to transport the tiles. This seems to be an indicator that some customers are stocking up, effectively lowering the number of tiles available to others. A phenomenon corroborated by a craftsman: “thehe only way out was to plan ahead as soon as possible. Me, I ordered large stocks last year. Today, you have to order 6 months in advance to get tiles on time.“.
Craftsmen in the sector hope that the situation will unblock from next year. “It is believed that in January 2023 things should return to normal. We will have lost almost a year… It’s a year that will be expensive for many craftsmen“, he concludes.