Shortages of supplies and workers will delay Gulf rebuilding

Joe Sobol, owner of Big Easy Construction in New Orleans, has bad news for homeowners who've been calling about roofs damaged by Hurricane Ida or to get an update on renovations that were scheduled before the storm ripped through the area.

The job will cost a lot more than usual — and take much longer, too.

Ida slammed into the Gulf Coast — then took its destruction to the Northeast — at a time when building contractors were already grappling with severe shortages of workers and depleted supply chains. The damage inflicted by Ida has magnified those challenges.

The struggle to find enough skilled workers and materials will likely drive up costs, complicate planning and delay reconstruction for months.

“My expectation," said Ali Wolf, chief economist at the real estate research firm Zonda, “is that it only gets worse from here.”

Consider that Lake Charles, Louisiana, 200 miles west of New Orleans, still hasn’t recovered from the damage left when Hurricane Laura tore through the area a year ago.

The challenges facing construction companies stem from what happened after the nation endured a brutal but brief recession when the viral pandemic erupted in March 2020: The economy rebounded far faster and stronger than anyone expected. Businesses of all kinds were caught off-guard by a surge in customer demand that flowed from an increasingly robust economic recovery.

Workers and supplies were suddenly in short supply. For months now across the economy, businesses have been scrambling to acquire enough supplies, restock their shelves and recall workers they had furloughed during the recession.

Construction companies have been particularly affected. Among building executives Zonda surveyed last month, 93% complained of supply shortages. Seventy-four percent said they lacked...