While logging a marginal decrease from June to July, construction input prices have seen a 17.3% jump from where they stood last summer.
According to a new report issued by the Associated Builders and Contractors, prices in nearly all materials categories have been consistently on the upside for the last 12 months.
By far the largest increase has been with the price of natural gas, up by 61.1% since last summer and a record 275% since the month before the Covid 19 outbreak. Other big jumps are seen in the 33.4% increase in crude petroleum and 21.3% increase in fabricated structural metal products.
Small single digit increases year over year were recorded in the price of nonferrous wire and cable, with a 7.6% jump; steel mill products, up by 6.4%; and iron and steel products, up by 2.8%.
While the July-to-July figures are daunting, a more promising picture is seen in the price trend line from June to July of this year. Of eleven subcategories, prices had declined in eight.
That trend line, said Anirban Basu, chief economist with the ABC, suggests that the challenge of inflation may be lessening.
“A weakening global economy and ongoing supply chain adjustments have resulted in significant declines in the prices of a number of key commodities,” said Basu in a statement.
Continued Basu: “Recent government reports on consumer and producer prices make it more than likely that the Federal Reserve will be able to engineer a soft landing or that any recession to come could be quite mild.”
For contractors, added Basu, “This is a welcome development.”
By Garry Boulard
