Infrastructure resources study

Given the critical role these resources take in the cost and ability to undertake infrastructure projects, this research looks into four key infrastructure resources: aggregate, cement/concrete, steel, and timber.  

This research focuses on testing:   

• Whether there are any impediments to gaining access to supply.
• Whether there is certainty that the price estimated will be the actual price further down a project and that price itself is not creating a barrier.
• Whether materials of the necessary quality will be available, and if the quality can be assured.

Key findings

• Aggregates and timber struggle to increase supply to match spikes in demand.
• Addressing the carbon impact of high emitting materials like cement and steel will have a major impact on the use of these materials in construction projects.
• New Zealand can do more to better manage its endowment of aggregate.
• Vertical integration warrants deeper investigation.
• Transportation costs and resource consents are major bottlenecks for the supply of many physical resources.