Building materials prices have continued to trend upward as competition for project bids remains tight and government indecision on 2013 tax rates puts the status of many projects in limbo, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reports. The slowed growth, in turn, is affecting builders’ and contractors’ ability to keep pace with the steady price increases, says Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. In August, the AGC’s Producer Price Index increased 0.9 percent from June and 1 percent from a year earlier. Of the items tracked, gypsum products are up 17.8 percent from August 2011 and 0.3 percent from July 2012; architectural coatings’ prices held steady from July but grew 11.7 percent from August 2011; and lumber and plywood, which increased 2.3 percent over July, are up 6.9 percent from a year earlier.
“After years of depressed construction activity, the last thing contractors need is to see materials price increases further erode their already slim margins,” Sandherr said in a statement. “This isn’t the kind of economic recovery most contractors spent the past few years praying for.”
