The Enquirer has been contacted by worried contractors who have been told by some suppliers that they cannot fulfill new orders until January 2022.

One contracting boss said: “Getting cladding for projects is a nightmare at the moment and looks set to only get worse.”

The shortage of metal cladding and roofing materials is now a major problem across the industry.

Another contractor said: “We walked away from bidding a decent job earlier this year because the client hadn’t factored in materials shortage issues and possible price rises.

“The winning contractor had no inflation clauses for materials which isn’t looking the smartest of moves now.”

Another said: “We have been told by our usual supplier that they have no availability of cladding for new orders until next January.

“A lot of main contractors will be scrabbling for cladding materials and I think it will be a crisis for some time.”

Leading facade and roofing specialist Ash & Lacy said shortages of aluminium cladding were focused on pre-coated products.

Ash & Lacy CEO Dr Jonathan Evans said: “The real problems are with pre-coated aluminium cladding where a limited supply chain means delivery delays are six months plus at the moment.

“But there is no shortage of mill-finish aluminium which is available now for contractors and can be powder coated as normal and fabricated to a high standard.

“Steel supplies are a continuing problem but we can switch production to aluminium for cladding support systems to maintain supplies.”