An Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of information provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows construction material prices rose 2.1% from January to February, according to www.abc.org. On a year-over-year basis, the price of construction materials increased 7.6%.
Nonresidential construction material prices rose 2.1% from January to February and increased 7.1% compared with one year ago. Softwood lumber prices are up 79.7% year-over-year, and iron and steel prices are up 22%.
“Anyone who questions whether or not the inflation story is real should look at today’s Producer Price Index,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Input prices are rising rapidly even in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic that continues to suppress economic growth in many parts of the world, including Europe and Latin America. If anything, these conditions should create flat prices, but the injection of massive levels of monetary and fiscal stimulus into the global economy, along with occasional supply chain issues, have produced a nearly 8% rise in construction input prices over the past year.
“As vaccinations become more pervasive around the world, additional stimulus is injected into various economies, and the global economy reopens in earnest, the pace of price increases could further accelerate,” Basu continued. “According to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, only 36% of contractors expect their profit margins to increase over the next six months. Meaningful inflation would almost certainly lower that share. ABC is indicating to its members that they should be very careful in crafting their contracts, given the risk of future materials price increases. The risk is real. Today’s data release does nothing to alter that prescription.”
