(Atlantic) As construction season ramps up, contractors are scrambling to secure building materials.
Dave Sturm, Engineer for Snyder and Associates in Atlantic, says material costs have gone up 15-to-40-percent. Sturm says the steepest price increase is in steel and wood material. He’s noticed a 35-percent cost increase in steel. The cost increase is also significant for PVC pipe used for water mains and sanitary sewers. Sturm says the increase is due to the pandemic and the Texas ice storm. ”The Texas ice storm shut down many of the resin plants that make PVC pipe and other plastic materials,” explained Sturm. “It’s definitely playing a role in construction prices, and we’re going to see it going forward, at least for the next several months.”
Sturm says the rapid price increases make it difficult to estimate project costs from an engineer’s position. “Currently, it’s hard to estimate what’s going to happen,” said Sturm. “We’re throwing darts here and hoping it’s not too much when we go into a project.”
The price increase and scarcity of supplies are also a challenge for contractors bidding on projects. In some cases, suppliers are only locking in prices for 15 or 20 days instead of the standard 60-days.
Supplies of drywall and lumber are also limited in some areas right now.
