Construction firms in the Okanagan are among the hardest-hit in the province by supply chain disruptions, an industry group says.

Highway closures caused by flooding only exacerbated the difficulties builders were already having sourcing basic construction materials, the Independent Contractors and Business Association says.

“We heard from a lot of our members that they were having incredible difficulty getting the materials they needed up to the Okanagan and the Interior,” ICBA president Chris Gardner said in an interview Wednesday with the Kelowna Daily Courier.

“The situation is better now with the highways re-opened, but things are far from being back to normal,” Gardner said. “Based on what’s still happening with supply chains here and around the world, I think we’re still going to be seeing these challenges until much later in the year.”

Between mid-October and early December, the ICBA surveyed its 3,300 members and clients about the supply chain challenges they were experiencing in getting basic materials such as lumber, plastics, paint, fixtures and finishing.

Three-quarters of the ICBA members provincewide said it was taking more time to get such materials. But the problem was said to be even worse in the Okanagan and the Interior, where 88% of ICBA members reported delays in getting the construction materials they required.

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