Materials prices rise

Concrete prices in April experienced no change, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index. Steel and asphalt continued to post the largest monthly price increases among building materials in April 2007. Steel prices grew by 4.4 percent from March to April and asphalt prices were up 1.2 percent for the month. According to the spring PCA Cement and Construction Forecast, the relative price improvements of concrete compared to other materials that materialized during the fourth quarter of 2006 and has continued through recent data collections, will increase national cement intensity in 2007. Cement intensity refers to the tons of cement per dollar of construction activity. During the past year, steel prices have increased 17.1 percent, asphalt prices, led by increasing oil prices, rose 16 percent while concrete has seen a relatively modest increase during the last year of 4.6 percent. Lumber prices from 2006 to 2007 have declined by 11 percent. Your comment?