Page 64 - BusinessWest February 21, 2022

for key materials,” Simonson said. “That volatil- ity can be as hard to cope with as steadily rising prices and lead times.”
In the association’s 2022 Construction Hir- ing and Business Outlook Survey, material costs were listed as a top concern by 86% of contrac- tors, more than any concern. Availability of materials and supply-chain disruptions were the second-most-frequent concern, listed by 77% of the more than 1,000 respondents.
“Costs may not rise as steeply in 2022 as they did last year, but they are likely to remain volatile, with unpredictable prices and delivery dates for key materials.”
The producer price index for inputs to new, non-residential construction — the prices charged by goods producers and service provid- ers such as distributors and transportation firms — increased by 0.5% in December and 19.6% in 2021 as a whole. Those gains topped the rise in the index for new, non-residential construction — a measure of what contractors say they would charge to erect five types of non-residential buildings, Simonson noted. That index climbed by 0.3% for the month and 12.5% from a year earlier.
Prices moderated for some construction materials in December but still ended the year with large gains, Simonson observed. The
price index for steel-mill products rose 0.2%
in December, its smallest rise in 15 months, but soared 127.2% over 12 months. The index for diesel fuel declined 5.3% for the month but increased 54.9% for the year. The index for alu- minum mill shapes slid 4.9% in December but rose 29.8% over 12 months, while the index
for copper and brass mill shapes fell 3.3% in December but rose 23.4% over the year.
Some prices accelerated in December. The index for plastic construction products climbed 1.3% for the month and 34.0% over 12 months. The index for lumber and plywood rose 12.7% for the month and 17.6% for the year.
Association officials said rising materials prices threaten to undermine what is otherwise a strong outlook for the construction industry
in 2022. They urged the Biden administration to reconsider its plans to double tariffs on Canadi- an lumber and leave other trade barriers in place that artificially inflate the costs of key construc- tion materials.
“Making lumber and other materials even more expensive will not tame inflation, boost supplies of affordable housing, or help the econ- omy grow,” Sandherr said. “Instead, the admin- istration should be removing tariffs and beating inflation.” u
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64 FEBRUARY 21, 2022 CONSTRUCTION BusinessWest