Associated General Contractors of America has urged USofficials to end tariffs on key construction materials and take steps to help unknot snarled supply points. association's chief economist Ken Simonson said “Construction materials costs remain out of control despite a decline in some inputs last month.Meanwhile, supply bottlenecks continue to worsen.”

according to an analysis “The producer price index for new nonresidential construction,a measure of what contractors say they would charge to erect five types of nonresidential buildings, ose 5.2 percent over the past 12 months, despite a decline of 0.9 percent in the latest month. From September 2020 to last month, the prices that producers and service providers such as distributors and transportation firms charged for construction inputs jumped 17 percent, Simonson noted. There were double-digit percentage increases in the selling prices of most materials used in every type of construction with the exclusion of lumber and plywood, which fell 12.3 percent during the past 12 months.”

The producer price index for steel mill products increased by 134 percent compared to last September.

In addition to increases in materials costs, transportation and fuel costs also spiked. The index for truck transportation of freight jumped 15 percent. Fuel costs, which contractors pay directly to operate their own trucks and off-road equipment, as well as through surcharges on freight deliveries, have also jumped.

Association officials added that many contractors are experiencing extreme delays or uncertainty about delivery dates for receiving shipments of many types of construction materials. The association officials urged the Biden administration to immediately end tariffs on key construction materials. In addition, they asked for an all-out effort to help ports and freight transportation businesses move goods more quickly

Steel Users Urge Mr Biden to End Tariffs on Construction Materials

Strategic Research Institute

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