Overall construction and engineering costs were up last month, continuing a trend that has ongoing since the fall of 2020.
According to a report published jointly by the data firm IHS Markit and the Procurement Executive Group, shipping costs have also posted a gain for the 18th month in a row, prompting an increase in the price of component parts.
The IHS Markit PEG Engineering and Construction Cost Index hit an index score of 75.3 near the end of February. Any reading above the 50 mark indicates a rise in prices from the month previous.
Notes a statement accompanying the latest index reading: “Due to these rising shipping costs and limited freight availability, many other sub-indices for components have maintained price increases as well.”
This means that the prices for such items as copper-based wire and cable, as well as electrical equipment and transformers were all up in February.
In a statement, David Smith, electrical machinery and equipment analyst for IHS Markit, noted that grain-oriented electrical steel is “only made at one mill domestically, which has further heightened domestic transformer supply.”
Smith added that “high input costs coupled with shipping backlogs will support price increases for electrical machinery through the end of 2022.”
By Garry Boulard
