Building supply shortage expected

The building industry is gearing up for post-disaster shortages of roofing materials, plywood, wood paneling, windows, sheet rock and concrete.

Rebuilding, however, will not begin for months, after insurance claims are settled, and will go on for years, experts say. Demand, therefore, is expected to evolve slowly, mitigating price increases, said Shawn Church, editor of Random Lengths, a service that tracks lumber prices.

Projects nationwide using concrete, however, may be deferred or abandoned because of Hurricane Katrina, as those resources go into repair efforts in the South, said Michael Carliner, chief economist for the National Assn. of Home Builders.