It’s all part of the crisis in the building supply chain.
For months builders and other tradespeople have been struggling with empty shop shelves; weeks, sometimes month-long delays in delivery of essential materials; and soaring costs.
Covid-disrupted shipping and port backlogs, and unprecedented global demand are being blamed.
But the hard to find, outrageously expensive bag of nails is not all because of the pandemic.
It’s also about China’s attempt to be greener, says Building Industry Federation chief executive Julien Leys.
“Most of our nails come out of Asia, places like China, that are now going through their own contraction in terms of production because they don’t have the energy due to a lack of coal, and the whole adjustment around trying to shift away from coal.
“That’s now exposed that the supply chain and manufacturing base is actually not set up for (the change) yet.”