Clyde has ranked number one in portaloo rentals, with new data from AIM Hire and Building materials giant Bowens showing Clyde tradies log the most hours on site.
Clyde alone is responsible for six per cent (441) of AIM Hire’s 7000 portaloo rentals over the past year.
The “portaloo index” reveals which areas are flush with facilities.
Officer and Pakenham tradies rented148 loos, and Berwick tradies weren’t far behind, wiping the floor with 116 rentals.
“We utilise the insights gained across the business to stay ahead of demand ensuring we continue to respond quickly to the demands of all builders,” Mr Bowen said.
Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Phillip Lowe has been urged to pay attention to where the loos are too, with AIM Hire managing director Elise Kelsey noting they’re the first thing on a building site and almost the last to go, which could help inform the strength of the economy.
“I do think the RBA should be looking at the portaloos going out,” Ms Kelsey said.
“It’s a good indicator, when our deliveries slow down they aren’t building as many houses.”
Describing the firm as Victoria’s “number one” for portaloos, she said they currently have 7782 and were actively trying to get more as blow outs in build times due to labour shortages in the construction sector meant they were spending six months or more on a build site instead of the usual three or four months on the job.
Building industry hire groups are concerned they could soon be backed up with portaloos sitting idle, and believe it’s an issue the Reserve Bank of Australia needs to consider.
But while the city’s new housing estate suburbs are flush today, the people behind the portaloos have concerns the RBA’s cash rate hikes will soon put the industry in the toilet.
“We won’t see as many of the loos go on to sites going forward,” she said.
“From what we are hearing from our builders is everyone’s sales are down, and that’s from interest rate hikes.”
The firm now expects they will be backed up with more loos sitting idle from the start of 2024.
Housing Industry Association Chief Economist Tim Reardon said any indication portaloo is declining is a bad sign for the economy.
“The building industry has been quite constipated with a large volume of work over the past couple of years,” Mr Reardon said.
“But by the end of this year the amount of work in the pipeline is hollowing out quite quickly.”
However, that could be good news for home buyers, with less loos on sites effectively meaning less demand for tradies — and more competition to win building contracts.
