New Zealand’s biggest manufacturer, Fletcher Building, says it has been caught unawares by the demand for Gib, with builders going to desperate lengths to get their hands on it.
Plasterboard is currently in high demand due to the perfect storm of a building boom and supply issues.
A sheet of Gib normally sells for around $30 but is now selling in some places, such as on Trade Me auctions, for hundreds of dollars.
Hamish MacBeth from Fletcher Building describes it as the "toilet paper effect", a reference to the panic buying of loo roll during parts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
MacBeth says the shortage is leading to stockpiling and Fletcher Building is asking distributors to put a cap on how much people can buy.
"We are seeing orders for the same house through different customers," says MacBeth.
"Hopefully that will ease off and we'll see the true demand."
The shortage is also leading to calls from within the building sector for greater competition and for it to be easier to import products.
"There's a lot of very good products…but somehow they struggle to get them in to the country," says builder Murray Holt.
"Allow innovative new products to come in, particularly green products," says Julien Leys from the Building Industry Federation.
"At the moment our building code is quite prescriptive."
It’s something the Commerce Commission is looking into, alongside a review of regulations.
SHARE ME