Supplier Insider is a weekly roundup of the latest news and insights relevant to construction suppliers.
Lumber price from Canada to US decreases by 24.2%
A 24.2% decrease in the average price of lumber supplied by Canada to the US was recorded in April 2019. Lesprom
- Lumber price has decreased but USDA data reports an imports increase of 8.75% for lumber, totalling up to 3.1 million cubic meters.
- Total lumber imports to the US also increased to 3.5 million cubic meters, but the overall import value has dropped by 14.1% to $573.9 million.
- Lumber exports from Germany to the US, on the other hand, has improved by 47.1% to 115.5 thousand cubic meters.
Construction input prices slightly increased in May
A 0.3% increase in construction input prices was reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for the month of May. ABS
- Six subcategories suffered a dip in price values in May, including natural gas (-15.2%), unprocessed energy materials (-8.2%) and crude petroleum (-6.2%).
- Non-residential construction materials such as asphalt remain relatively stable, according to ABC chielf economist Anirban Basu. Tariffs in aluminum and steel also affected the increase in prices.
- An overall 0.6% increase in construction prices was recorded over the last 12 months per BLS data.
Sand supply disrupted in Jefferson City due to flooding
Flooding in Capital Sand and other sand plants in Jefferson City has affected concrete contractors whose businesses rely heavily on regular sand supply. 13KRCG
- Sand comprises about 60% of concrete’s aggregate, according to Portland Cement.
- A number of suppliers have had to make do with limited sand supply while the sand plants are recovering from the effects of the flood.
- Scott Marin from Scott’s Concrete has not received his usual sand supply but said that they still have a “pretty good stock pile.” Martin added that his business has lost thousands of dollars since the flooding.