While commodity prices have begun to stabilize following the extreme volatility of the past several years, recession fears continue to mount. Inflation and labor shortages remain ongoing issues within the construction industry as well as the broader U.S. economy.
“Bid price increases on a year-over-year basis have finally caught up with material cost increases, which will bring smiles of relief to many contractors,” says Alex Carrick, chief economist at ConstructConnect. “Furthermore, expectations of an onrushing recession, due largely to climbing interest rates, are causing pullbacks in some key commodity prices. This is especially apparent in forestry products that go into new homebuilding. But it’s also being seen in some other raw materials, such as copper.”