MATERIAL PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE

After the huge rise in the cost of materials during Covid there was hope that costs would plateau but prices are continuing to increase. Andy Stevens sheds light on what this means for you and your project

- Andy Stevens

When do you think price rises will end?” I get asked this million-dollar question all of the time. I’m certainly no clairvoyant but I can give a summary of materials that are rising, and will be rising, so you don’t get caught short on your build.

Firstly, one of the main reasons for the price rises on most materials at the moment is the situation involving Russia and Ukraine. It’s having a huge knock-on effect across many industries — and construction is certainly one of them. British companies are having to spend a large amount of time carrying out their due diligence to make sure they are not working with any Russian companies.

TIMBER COSTS

Let’s take timber as an example. Timber prices did drop ever so slightly at the beginning of 2022 but are certainly going back up again now and here’s why. The UK’s imported timber comes mainly from Eastern Europe and Russia, as well as Scandinavia. As a country, we’re trading with Russia less and less, which is where the problem lies. No more timber from Russia but also a lot less timber from Eastern European countries as they work with Russian agents and other companies. This means we’re not getting anywhere near the quantity of timber we are used to, plus there’s an increase in haulage costs. So these are the reasons prices are rising.