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Tell something to enough people often enough and the effect is not necessarily that they will believe it, but often that they become resistant to the message.

This can be true with such issues as charitable requests, pleas for environmental concern, and indeed, any calls for restraint announcing shortages, of whatever they might be.

We may be running out of water in Britain with the South of England having hosepipe bans, but when homeowners are cold, wet and miserable and as far from desert sands as can be imagined, it is difficult for the message to sink in.

Commodity prices

Thus it is also the case for commodity prices, and specifically metals. I am not sure why this should be, but perhaps it is because the actual processes by which world metals prices are calculated, and the influences and pressures that map their destiny, are so removed from what most of us do on a daily basis, that most of us find it difficult to relate to something that happens on the other side of the world, perhaps when we are in bed asleep.

The reality of course, is that not only do metals prices affect us, they affect pretty much everything that we do, or buy or indeed make. And that includes the manufacture of windows, doors and conservatories, as well as the insulated glass units that go into them. ‘Oh here we go again,' I here you say, ‘Another sob story to justify a price hike!'

Well yes, it is, but the reality is that such is the volatility of metals prices - inexorably upwards - that the 50% year on year increases in the prices of various metals have given rise to a substantial increase in the theft of anything metal for its scrap value.

Scrap value - and theft

Beer kegs, for example, are now a major target for thieves, as are other day-to-day objects that we take for granted. Thieves in Germany, for example, recently dismantled and stole three miles of disused railway track outside Weimar, whilst the soaring price of aluminium made it worth the trouble for crooks to remove nearly all of the 800 luggage trolleys from railway station in Belgium, although I must assume, not all in a single swoop.

And in what is perhaps a somewhat desperate effort to cash in on the commodities price spiral, thieves stole the aluminium cups from the holes at the exclusive Royal Johor Country Club in Malaysia. I wonder if these are now enjoying a second life cycle in someone's windows?

Now before you decide to offset what are inevitable price rises in glazing accessories, reinforcement and other consumables by uprooting the lamp posts outside your factory, let me assure everyone that, whilst I must warn fabricators and IGU makers to prepare for increases and on a regular basis, there is no need as yet to invest in your own smelter.

IGU production vulnerable

during a single week in March, aluminium prices increased by no less than 5.4% or $129 per tonne

Several factors are causing the rises, including demand, the strengthening of the dollar, and rising energy prices.

Aluminium, which of course is used extensively in frame manufacture and IGU production, is particularly vulnerable to energy cost increases as whilst oil is not used in the smelting process, the price of oil directly affects energy prices generally. Energy, and high raw material (alumina) prices, are the two key factors in the rising cost of aluminium, and therefore products manufactured from aluminium. Speculation by traders doesn't help either: during a single week in March aluminium prices increased by no less than 5.4% or $129 per tonne. Lead, copper, tin and other metals have all increased to one degree or another.

So, in the specific environment of the IGU manufacturer, and in turn therefore the window/door/conservatory installer, what does this mean?

There's good news, and bad news. The bad news is that there will be rises in the cost of spacer and Georgian bar, and these are likely to affect the market regularly in the future.

The advice, therefore, is to anticipate these rises and ensure that a cushion is created that runs between maintaining competitive prices for your products, whilst reducing margin erosion.

Spacer and Georgian bar

My own concern is, of course, spacer and Georgian bar, but this must equally be applied to any area where aluminium is used. Conservatory manufacturers therefore have a much more serious issue to face.

The good news is that whilst any increase in costs is undesirable, during the next year I estimate that the additional cost of spacer and Georgian in sealed units will be no more than an average of 5 pence per unit. That's right, five pence.

Well what is the fuss about - less than a couple of loaves of Warburton's bread? The issue is that the usual reaction to news of any increase is ‘No Way!' But as I have explained here, whilst the maintenance of margins is crucial and price rises should be factored in, there is no reason to overreact. And especially as aluminium IGU components remain highly cost effective against other spacers, including warm edge.

These are the facts, and installers should be careful to treat news about aluminium increases with caution - especially the source of that news!