Construction Material Prices Up 15.5% in October 2022

CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL prices were up by 15.5% in October 2022 overall for ‘all work’, compared to the same month last year.

The greatest increases in building material prices were for new work, which rose by 20.6% compared to 2021, and ‘other’ categories of work. Repair and maintenance rose by 9.2%, while new housing rose by 10.1% on the year.

Compared to September’s building material prices, the growth in materials prices stopped or reversed in October. Only building material prices for new housing rose slightly at an increase of 0.2%, while repair and maintenance prices stalled at 0.0% and new work and other category material costs fell by 0.4% – giving an overall ‘all work’ decrease in material prices of -0.2% on the month.

Construction Material Prices

Looking at particular materials, the greatest price increases came from gravel, sand, clays and kaolin (including the aggregate levy) with a 56.7% increase on 2021’s prices. Insulating materials (thermal or acoustic) rose by 51.2% on the year.

Meanwhile the biggest price decreases were for imported sawn or planed wood, which saw a -19.9% decrease on the year, and particle board prices which dropped by -9.7%.

Over the Quarter 3 of 2022 sales of sand and gravel decreased by 2.8%, following a decrease of 3.6% in Quarter 2 2022. Ready-mixed concrete sales decreased by 3.3% in Quarter 2 2022 compared to Q1 and there was a 7.3% decrease in brick deliveries in October 2022 on the year. However, this followed a 1.3% increase in August 2022, on the month.

The decreasing trend in sales and deliveries held for concrete block deliveries, which saw a 4.4% decrease in October 2022 compared to October 2021, according to the seasonally adjusted figures.

When it comes to the balance of trade for construction materials, imports decreased by £514 million in Quarter 3 2022, down 8.2% on the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, exports of construction materials increased by £26 million in Q3 22 compared to Q2 22, an increase of 1.2%.

As a result, the quarterly trade deficit decreased by £540 million to £3,674 million, a decrease of 12.8%.

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