The year began with an explosion in steel prices that reverberated throughout construction. That was followed by aftershocks in lumber, plywood, gypsum wallboard, copper, stainless steel, insulation and concrete products. The rebound in nonresidential construction markets, strong spending on public works and record levels of home building pushed up demand for materials and prices along with it. The resulting higher materials prices propelled inflation in the construction industry from 3 % at the beginning of the year to about 10% by September, according to ENR's building cost index.
展开▼
