Materials Trends
Prices are updated monthly by ENR's price reporters who call a single source for each product in 20 U.S. cities. The price represents that paid by a contractor for a specified large order. Monthly prices appear on the weekly rotating cycle.
Cement/Concrete/Aggregates
Prices for 21 products covering asphalt, cement, aggregates, concrete, brick, concrete block and mason's lime.
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Recession Is Wearing Down Concrete Prices
Ready-mix concrete prices declined between 0.5% and 1.4% this month, according to ENR’s 20-city average price. This dip wiped out July’s 1.2% hike and a 0.1% increase in August, bringing prices back to last June’s level. The decline left concrete prices averaging 1.6% above September 2009’s level, which is down from August when concrete prices averaged annual gains of 2.7%. Portland cement prices managed a 0.3% increase this month, following a 0.2% increase in August. The back-to-back monthly increases helped to keep portland cement prices 1.7% above a year ago, up 0.2% from August’s annual pace.
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Pipe
Prices for 20 pipe products covering reinforced concrete pipe, corrugated steel pipe, vitrified clay pipe, PE underdrain, PVC sewer and water pipe, ductile iron pipe and copper water tubing.
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Pipe Prices Post Mixed Results
Prices for construction pipe products are showing varied results ranging from steady increases for ductile iron pipe to a sharp rebound for reinforced concrete pipe to a large roll back for PVC water pipe. However, overall prices for many pipe products remain well above last year’s depressed levels. The largest year-to-year increase is 10.8% for 1/2-in. copper water tubing, followed by 10.2% increase for 8-in. DIP. Corrugated steel pipe prices are up between 4% and 7% from August 2009, according to ENR’s 20-city average price. PVC water and sewer pipe have the most modest increases, ranging from 2% to 5%.
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Lumber/Drywall
Prices for 18 products covering lumber, plywood, plyform, particle board, gypsum wallboard and insulation.
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Lumber Prices Ease Back
Lumber prices are starting to stall after an initial rebound from record lows earlier in the year. ENR’s 20-city average price for the most commonly used species of 2x4s jumped 8% between last February and May, following housing’s rebound, also from record lows. However, lumber prices have cooled as the rebound in housing began to falter, resulting in lumber prices falling 4% in the last three months. This year, the mill price for framing lumber dropped from $357 a thousand bd ft last April to $252 this July, according to a composite price index published by Random Lengths, Eugene, Ore.
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Steel
Prices for 16 products covering structural steel, reinforcing bar, steel plate, metal lath, aluminum sheet, stainless steel sheet and plate and H-piles.
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Steel Prices May Be Peaking
Structural-steel prices inched up another 0.5% this month, keeping prices 4.4% above a year ago, according to ENR’s 20-city average price for channel, wide-flange and I-beams. However, prices may be moving down soon, according to the construction materials forecast firm Global Insight, Washington, D.C. Global Insight predicts that structural steel prices will fall 1.5% between the second and third quarter of this year to $727 per ton. Prices are expected to fall another 10.6% to $650 a ton by the first quarter of next year before bottoming out, says Global Insight.
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Materials Price Index
The Materials Cost Index is the materials component of ENR’s building and construction cost indexes. It tracks the weighted price movement of structural steel, portland cement and 2 X 4 lumber.
