Material costs on the rise for construction companies

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) -Material costs are on the rise for construction companies. Local businesses said the inflation, which was up more than 7% last month, is making it difficult to keep up with the demand for building.

“What it really means for the county engineering department, we’re going to be doing less with the same amount of money,” Pam Dingman, the Lancaster County Engineer said.

Lancaster County saw a 10-15% increase in project prices over what was expected. Dingman said some materials are 15-20% more expensive, and in the case of steel piping, it’s up almost 300% in the last year and a half.

“That means we’re probably going to scale back some of our construction as the year goes on,” Dingman said. “We have a finite amount of money and if prices increase, we have to account for the funds we’ve been allocated.”

Getting the materials is taking longer, too.

“If we needed parts for our motor graders, we used to be able to get it next day,” Dingman said. “We’re now finding the same parts take 3-5 weeks to get.”

Steve Willis, the president of Stephens and Smith Construction, to look over the costs of materials.

Willis said their steal purchases are up 67% from last year. The 16-foot two-by-fours they use for forming lumber have doubled in cost since December. Their concrete purchases have gone up nearly 10% after rising 7% last year.

“Well, it’s been a little tough to keep up with the inflation on some of the materials,” Willis said.

Willis said they saw prices spike at the beginning of the pandemic and then come back down. Now they’re up again.

“Pricing is going to vary a little bit with how some of these commodities are running and such,” Willis said. “Timing is really important if you’re a builder or homeowner. Purchasing some of these projects can affect the ultimate cost of the project.”

Willis said they buy their fuel in bulk, about 8,000 to 9,000 gallons. So when they run out of fuel, he said they’re looking at significantly higher prices there too. Diesel prices in Nebraska are 90 cents higher than they were a year ago.