Construction Materials Prices drop 0.3% in January
Share
Print this Page
RSS FeedThe construction materials price index fell 0.3% in January while the price index for the whole economy rose for the second month. This was the fourth consecutive monthly decline. The index is now at the year ago level before the world wide commodity boom spiked prices in the middle of 2008. Further declines in the overall construction price index are possible but the expected trend into the fall is for a very modest rise in the index. This will be a combination of further drops in energy and metal based products but progressive price firming in products that include more manufacturing labor.
Energy prices have been stable and metal prices fell further from mid-January to mid-February when the survey for the next PPI report was taken. Declining energy and metal prices have not yet fully been passed through to the prices of products manufactured from these commodities. The final pass through, including into freight rates, will be the key driver of weak materials pricing in the next few months.
The most significant declines last month were 34% for copper ore, 23% for asphalt (at the refinery), 7% for extruded aluminum, 5% for steel pipe and 4% for plastic resins and structural steel. The asphalt price drop will partially reverse when the additional $30 B for highways begins to be spent later this year. “Paving” is the most shovel ready of any road project.
There most significant price increases in January was 2.3% for ready-mix concrete. Aggregates prices continue to increase, rising 1.3% in January. Also steel scrap prices rose 22% in January on top of a January increase. But this is random noise in an extremely volatile market. Steel product prices are still declining. Recent scrap price trends probably signal that the drop in steel product prices will be ending soon.
Construction Materials Inflation – January 2009
| Percent Change in… | ||||
| 1 month | 3 months | 12 months | 3 years | |
| Construction Commodities | ||||
| Dimension Stone | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 5.7 |
| Cement | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Asphalt Paving Mixtures and Blocks | -23.2 | -57.5 | 13.9 | 21.7 |
| Construction Sand, Gravel & Crushed Stone | 1.3 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 21.3 |
| Softwood Plywood | -2.4 | -13.5 | -10.0 | -17.1 |
| Hardwood Lumber | -1.2 | -4.1 | -6.5 | -10.0 |
| Softwood Lumber | -3.4 | -13.5 | -8.2 | -30.7 |
| Other Commodities | ||||
| Industrial Natural Gas | -0.7 | -10.0 | 5.3 | 3.1 |
| Plastic Resins & Materials | -4.4 | -20.7 | -11.5 | -5.9 |
| Insulation Materials | -0.1 | 1.4 | 1.0 | -5.2 |
| Iron & Steel Scrap | 21.9 | -50.1 | -38.8 | -11.8 |
| Iron Ore | 3.5 | 3.5 | 11.9 | 10.9 |
| Copper Ores | -33.8 | -56.0 | -50.3 | -33.2 |
| Copper Base Scrap | -2.5 | -57.8 | -54.6 | -44.0 |
| Manufactured Materials | ||||
| Gypsum Products | 1.0 | 4.0 | 9.0 | -16.4 |
| Diesel Fuel | -4.3 | -52.0 | -41.5 | -28.8 |
| Asphalt Roofing | -2.4 | 3.8 | 50.6 | 54.9 |
| Paint | 0.0 | 3.8 | 16.4 | 22.4 |
| Plastic Construction Products | 0.3 | -2.1 | 3.3 | 2.5 |
| Vitreous Plumbing Fixtures | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.5 | -4.2 |
| Ceramic Tile | 0.2 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 3.0 |
| Flat Glass | -1.7 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 3.8 |
| Fabricated Building Steel | 0.6 | -4.4 | 7.6 | 15.3 |
| Hot rolled bars, plates & structural shapes | -3.2 | -26.8 | -0.9 | 16.4 |
| Extruded Aluminum rod, bar and other shapes | -7.4 | -18.5 | -15.3 | -14.5 |
| Architectural Metalwork | -2.6 | -3.7 | 18.8 | 27.8 |
| Metal Plumbing Fixtures | 0.5 | -0.3 | 3.5 | 12.9 |
| Builders' Hardware | 0.3 | 0.7 | 13.4 | 23.7 |
| Sheet Metal Products | -0.3 | -2.9 | 7.0 | 14.0 |
| Steel Pipe and Tube | -5.4 | -11.5 | 17.6 | 24.3 |
| Nonferrous Pipe and Tube | -5.9 | -34.0 | -33.5 | -22.1 |
| Building Brick | -0.1 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
| Ready Mix Concrete | 2.3 | 3.6 | 5.8 | 12.9 |
| Concrete Block & Brick | 0.0 | 0.9 | 4.1 | 10.2 |
| Prestressed Concrete | -3.3 | -3.2 | 1.2 | 5.2 |
| Precast Concrete Products | 0.5 | 0.2 | 4.5 | 11.6 |
| Concrete Pipe | 0.3 | -0.2 | 11.8 | 17.2 |
| Wood Kitchen Cabinets | -0.1 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 5.4 |
| Millwork (window,door, cabinet) | 0.2 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 4.6 |
| Engineered Wood Products | -1.9 | -2.8 | 1.4 | -11.7 |
| Laminated Plastics | 0.7 | 0.6 | 3.7 | 4.3 |
| Assembled Equipment | ||||
| Hand and Edge tools | 0.9 | 2.4 | 7.8 | 11.5 |
| Power Hand Tools | -1.8 | -0.1 | 3.0 | 3.7 |
| Appliances | 0.5 | 2.0 | 4.4 | 5.3 |
| Furnaces | 0.8 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 11.8 |
| Construction Machinery | 0.4 | 2.2 | 5.2 | 9.0 |
| Construction Machinery Rental (incl. oilfield equip.) |
0.1 | 0.5 | -1.5 | 6.6 |
| Trucks over 14,000 Ibs. GVW | 0.8 | 2.5 | 3.9 | 10.4 |
| Metal Doors, Sash and Trim | -0.6 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 9.0 |
| Summary | ||||
| Construction Materials (commodity level) | -0.7 | -6.7 | 4.8 | 8.3 |
| Inputs to Construction Industries | -0.3 | -8.5 | 1.8 | 8.1 |
| Inputs to NR Construction | -0.4 | -11.7 | 0.8 | 8.0 |
| Inputs to SF Construction | -0.4 | -4.0 | 4.0 | 8.1 |
| Inputs to MF Construction | -0.1 | -5.7 | 2.2 | 7.7 |
| Inputs to Highway & Street Const. | 0.4 | -16.4 | -1.4 | 9.0 |
| Inputs to Other Heavy Construction (indexes incl. installation and overhead) |
-0.4 | -12.3 | 0.4 | 9.2 |
| New Warehouse Building Construction | 1.3 | 5.1 | 7.3 | 26.9 |
| New School Construction | -0.9 | 3.9 | 11.7 | 20.6 |
| New Office Construction | 1.3 | 5.7 | 7.2 | |
| Production Index: Construction Supplies | -3.4 | -12.3 | -16.7 | -21.5 |
| Retail Sales: Building & Equipment Supplies | -5.4 | -10.7 | -10.1 | -18.3 |
Source: Producer Price Index, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
US Department of Labor, Federal Reserve Board, Census Bureau
Member Comments
Related News & Information
 | Increase your bid opportunities by finding projects faster, adding territory and managing existing upcoming projects with up-to-date information. Learn How! |
Would anyone be able to tell me how I can isolate & track construction material costs from August of 2008 through current (~March 2009). Is there any database or website which might provide this? Thanks in advance.
-Marc