20 percent more expensive in four months

20 percent more expensive in four months

Contractor Norbert Hartl is currently being confronted with price increases from his suppliers every hour: concrete, brick, bitumen, rock wool and other insulating materials. New prices will apply from April. The state guild master for construction says that material costs have increased by “20 to 25 percent” since the beginning of the year – and it is not clear how the situation will develop.

Because a certain granulate and structural steel came mainly from the Ukraine, availability was a problem. High energy prices do the rest. An excavator would consume 30 to 40 liters of fuel per hour – prices here have to rise accordingly. The increase in the cost of building is not desirable for the construction companies. For decades, the industry has promised fixed prices, even when construction projects lasted 24 months. This is no longer possible for new orders. Despite the uncertain price situation, the order books are full – also because customers fear further price increases. “Even though building was not cheap in the past.”

Improvements to existing orders would be negotiated. Partly with success – but not in the case of public sector contracts. In the case of school buildings, for example, Hartl demands that the higher material costs be compensated by the public client. Otherwise companies would “starve when the bowl is full,” says Markus Hofer, managing director of the building guild in Upper Austria. In fact, companies would currently complete orders at a loss.

In addition, those construction companies that work for housing cooperatives cannot submit any offers for the current upper limits, warns Hartl.

Source: Nachrichten

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