NEW ENGLAND MATERIAL COST & LEAD TIME TRENDS – October 2020

SLAM Construction Services continues to monitor costs, lead times and trends of local construction materials. The uncertainties of COVID-19 continues to affect the construction materials market in unpredictable ways. Our estimating team communicates with local subcontractors regularly to pick up on trends to better inform our design teams, owners and consultants.

Raw Materials

• Iron ore pricing is down this month, seemingly due to an increase in production by the mills/mines to help fuel global recovery.
• Stainless steel prices rose this month reportedly due to high demands for residential appliances, many of which use stainless steel. The source states that the manufacturers are seeing an increased demand due to the population spending more time at home and an increase in new housing construction.

Construction Materials

• The structural steel supplier reports that they have been advised of a potential upcoming price increase for next month. The exact percentage has not yet been determined.
• The roof shingle supplier advises that their major supplier, GAF, has stopped production on all but their top 6 selections which represents 95% of their market.
• The roof shingle supplier is seeing an increased demand which aligns with the “Covid-19″ phenomenon, where many people are working from home or had to cancel vacations, so they spend their money on home improvements, including new roofs.
• The liner foot price for LGMF is down this month, most likely due to the price drop of Iron Ore, from which LGMF is made.
• The lumber costs, as previously predicted by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), have begun to drop. This month about 10%. A further decline is forecasted by the CME.

MEP Equipment

• HVAC is starting to see some manufacturers raise prices but there is usually 1 or 2 that keep overall prices low.
• Electrical lighting manufacturers, as of right now, are back on track and are quoting standard lead-times.

Jared Cormier