Construction Material Inflation Continues at 10.6%

THE CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL PRICE INDICES released today by the government show that construction material price inflation continues to rise at an overall rate of 10.6% on the year.

The material price index for All Work increased by 10.6% in February 2023 compared to the same month the previous year, up from 10.4% in January 2023.

In terms of the monthly change, the material price index for All Work increased by 0.4% in February 2023 compared to January 2023. This followed a seasonal decrease of 0.5% in January 2023 on December 2022’s figure.

Meanwhile, year-on-year changes to construction material prices saw Other New Work reached the highest growth (+12.3%), while Repair and Maintenance prices increased at the smallest rate of 7.5% in February 2023 compared with 12 months before.

Looking at the month-on-month changes, the New Housing price index had the largest increase (1.1%), whilst the Other New Work category was unchanged in February 2023 compared with January 2023.

Insulation Inflation

The greatest price increases in construction materials were seen in insulation, both thermal and acoustic, which returned a 40.3% year-on-year change in February 2023.

Other categories seeing the highest inflationary pressures include screws at 32.9% and the gravel, sand, clays & kaolin category, which saw a 26.7% increase on the year.

The biggest price decreases were registered in the imported sawn or planed wood, which recorded a drop of -16.5%. Particle board decreased by -11.9% and imported plywood prices reduced by -7.8% on average, on the year.

Sales of sand & gravel decreased by 2.5% in Quarter 4 2022 compared to Quarter 3 2022, according to the Monthly Statistics of Building Materials and Components. Ready-mixed concrete sales decreased by 5.8% in the same period.

Year-on year, there was a 30.1% decrease in brick deliveries in February 2023 and, similarly, a 16.4% decrease in concrete block deliveries.

Concrete Roof Tile Data Lag

Up to date data for the production, delivery and stocks of concrete roof tiles are not available. The latest figures available for Q2 2022 show that there were 3,784,000m² of concrete roof tiles produced – running at approximately two-thirds of pre-pandemic levels.

Similarly, deliveries of concrete roof tiles stood at 3,868,000m², almost half of pre-pandemic levels. Stocks too remain at around just under half 2019 Q4 levels, with Q2 2022 data recorded at 1,756,000m² of concrete roof tiles area covered.

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