Impacts of COVID-19 on Construction Supply Chain

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic is deemed to be the largest global health crisis since decades. Aside from the unprecedented number of deaths, the pandemic has led to significant economic slowdowns, severe business disruptions and serious difficulties. COVID-19 has a dramatic impact on global economic development and various industries. Being the countries' most important economic factor, the construction industry has encountered many challenges since the early stages of the pandemic. This research helps in manifesting precisely and comprehensively the impacts of COVID-19 on the construction sector, particularly the construction supply chain. It identifies the disruptions that were encountered at different levels of the supply chain, and discusses the challenges that were felt at each stage of the procurement process of building materials. It also addresses the contractual and legal approaches that emerged in response to the pandemic impacts. Therefore, the study findings will be helpful to industry stakeholders who are interested in understanding the early effects of the pandemic on the construction industry, and to those who want to build upon the reported findings and establish necessary preliminary grasping on how to deal with such disruptive scenarios.