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The AEC Lens ![]() Alex Carrick, Chief Economist at ConstructConnect
Alex Carrick is Chief Economist for ConstructConnect. He is a frequent contributor to the Daily Commercial News and the Journal of Commerce. He has delivered presentations throughout North America on the Canadian, United States and world construction outlooks. A trusted and often-quoted source for … More » Canada No Slouch when it comes to Construction Material Cost HikesJuly 1st, 2021 by Alex Carrick, Chief Economist at ConstructConnect
Article source: ConstructConnect In recent weeks, I’ve written several articles dealing with U.S. outsized construction material cost increases. (See Latest PPI Results Show Construction Material Cost Increases Still Alarming and Shockingly High Material Cost Hikes Set Out in 2 Tables & 24 Graphs.) Contractors north of the border, though, I’m sure would like similar data on the Canadian experience. Table 1 is the response. The U.S. figures on percentage changes in building materials and related cost climbs are derived from the Producer Price Index data set calculated and published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The best means to achieve Canadian equivalency is to draw on the Industrial Product Price Index data set from Statistics Canada.
The most dramatic price increases in Table 1, both year over year and during the last three months for which numbers are available, have been pointed out with red arrows. Basically, it’s the prices attached to the same components in Canada as in the United States that are rapidly sprinting upwards: lumber, plywood, and other forestry products; steel and its inputs; gasoline and diesel fuel; and wire and cable made of copper. Table 1: Canadian Construction Material Costs
Based on Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) Series from Statistics Canada ![]() Data source: Statistics Canada’s Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) series, Table 18-10-0266-01.
Table: ConstructConnect. Category: ConstructConnect |