We are Tired of Bad News Too!

Posted on | by Bob Ritter

M.A. Mortenson (a very large construction company) says construction prices increased 19.2% last year. ROMAC (a very large building product supplier in Florida) says that on average, materials for a house from mid-December to mid-January went up 12%. Already subcontractors are telling us that they are booked for the year. Truss suppliers, who traditionally have had 2 to 4 weeks fab and deliver times, are out to October, making projects challenging to start and maintain continuous construction. The price of Ready-mix is up by $10 - $20 a cubic yard in the last couple of months, and drywall has been going up approximately 10% a month. 

I am tired of delivering bad news. Everyone knows prices are going up, but it is shocking the extent they are going up. Our clients seem to be getting numb to increases, and they are no longer even asking what I expect in...

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Is Inflation Here to Stay?

Posted on | by Bob Ritter

Everyone knows that inflation right now is the highest it’s been in 30 years, which is shocking.  Nearly all of my friends who run businesses can’t find workers, and they are paying dramatically more for those they find.  The Toledo Blade picked up a story that showed one in five workers expect raises of 10% or more the first of the year, which is also shocking.

So what’s going on?  We dealt with this with a wood pricing surge last year, but those prices came down significantly.  But now it seems we are dealing with material shortages and price increases on nearly everything.  Associated General Contractors reported that contractor costs rose 26.3% overall from June 2020 to June 2021, an astounding number.  Mortenson reported that costs jumped 7.1% from September to October of 2021.  Our clients are surprised and distressed at the price increases, and we don’t like them...

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