In the construction industry, the past restrictions due to the pandemic are becoming increasingly noticeable. Raw materials have once again become significantly more expensive.
Builders felt the effects of a sharp rise in prices for important materials in May.
Building materials such as wood, steel or insulation materials rose rapidly in the pandemic, announced the Federal Statistical Office on Monday. According to this, the prices for structural timber rose by a good 83 percent in May compared to the same month last year, for roof battens by 45.7 percent and construction timber by 38.4 percent.
Steel prices also drove construction costs up: Reinforcing steel in bars was 44.3 percent more expensive in May and welded wire mesh cost 30.4 percent more than a year ago, according to the Wiesbaden statisticians. Reinforcing steel is used, among other things, to reinforce floor slabs, ceilings or walls. The main reasons for the rising wood and steel prices are probably the increasing demand at home and abroad in the corona pandemic and problems in the supply of raw materials, the authority wrote.
The recent rise in oil prices also drove up prices on construction sites: bitumen based on crude oil, which is used to seal roofs, buildings and foundations, cost almost 64 percent more in May than in the same month of the previous year and insulation panels made of plastic such as polystyrene cost almost 20 Percent.
However, the prices did not go through the roof everywhere in the building: for gravel and sand (+4.8 percent), bricks (+2.2), roof tiles (+2.2) and fresh concrete (+1.7) there was in May only relatively slight increases.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
