In spite of the fallout from trade wars, construction materials prices remained stable in 2019. That’s likely to change.
“The cost increase of imported materials from China as a result of the newly implemented tariffs have shown the most significant impact on material costs so far this year,” says Marc Padgett, president of Summit Contracting Group Inc., based in Jacksonville, Fla. “Approximately 60 percent of the cost increases we’ve seen recently are directly related to tariffs.”
The price of lumber dropped sharply in 2019, despite trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada. “We had actually seen a dip in lumber costs over the past few months,” says Padgett. “The cost of lumber always has a significant impact on the budgeting for new developments.”