Russia-Ukraine War Continues to Impact Materials Prices and Availability

The price of structural steel shapes and tubing has seen substantial increases in the past two weeks owing to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Data Digest, which is published by the Associated General Contractors of America, is additionally reporting that “disruptions in the supplies of clay from Ukraine and soaring natural gas (fuel) prices” have prompted Italian and Spanish ceramic tile companies to suspend production.

Russia moved into Ukraine on February 24, bombing any number of cities and prompting up to four million Ukrainians to flee their country.

In the process, because Russia is a significant supplier of aluminum and copper, those materials have seen a double-digit price increase globally. “Input costs have almost doubled for many of the materials,” the publication Decan Chronicle has reported, adding that “builders and contractors are unable to complete their constructions.”

According to the World Steel Association, aluminum and steel prices have increased by 28% and 17% respectively since the Russian invasion.

The price increases, according to various reports, are not only impacting the cost of construction projects in the U.S., but also projects throughout Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Two weeks ago Britain’s Construction Leadership Council announced that on average all materials costs are now up by 10%.

In a statement, the CLC also said that the military action in Ukraine, combined with international sanctions on Russia, “are likely to constrain the supply of pallets, birch plywood and oriented strand board.”

Meanwhile, the Associated Builders and Contractors is reporting a double-digit increase in a variety of materials, resulting in an overall construction input price increase of 2.4% from a year ago.

In a statement, Anirban Basu, chief economist with ABC, predicted that matters will “get worse before they get better.”
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Basu additionally raised the likelihood that as the cost of materials continue to rise, thus impacting the bid prices, “more project owners will choose to delay project starts.”

​By Garry Boulard

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