Construction Costs Holding Steady During Pandemic

It might have been wishful thinking to assume the pandemic would cause big declines in costs for materials and labor in the construction industry.

1 minute read

June 30, 2020, 9:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


LaGuardia Airport

Construction workers on the job at LaGuardia Airport in New York City on June 10, 2020. | Ron Adar / Shutterstock

"One predicted benefit of the pandemic has been a decline in construction costs — or at least a halt to big price increases of recent years," according to an article by Steve Brown. 

Not so fast, according to recently released data as well as insight from Texas-based developers and builders surveyed by Brown surveyed for the article. "Phil Crone, executive officer of the Dallas Builders Association, said local homebuilders are seeing volatility in a number of supply chains that has actually increased prices," for instance. 

Still, "Nationwide engineering and construction costs dropped in June, according to a report by IHS Markit." And construction activity has been picking up. In Dallas-Forth Worth, "construction activity had rebounded by 15% in May from where it was in March when the pandemic caused a lockdown," according to Brown.

Monday, June 29, 2020 in The Dallas Morning News

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