The Labor Department's composite measure of average prices received for the entire range of construction materials and supplies declined by 0.2 percent between August and September of this year. This marked the fifth consecutive month of decline for the composite price index, which reached a peak-annualized rate of 2.8 percent inflation during April.
The September 2000 composite index level was 0.1 percent below its reading for the same month of 1999. Price trends have varied widely between specific kinds of construction materials. The sustained increase in oil prices has pushed asphalt prices sharply higher. But the inflation rate for gypsum products-which led all construction categories with a better than 17-percent rise during 1999-turned to deflation during the third quarter of this year as more production capacity came on board at the same time that construction market demand began to cool. Lumber prices also have moved sharply lower during 2000 after inflation in this product group peaked at 8 percent in the final quarter of last year.
Commercial, industrial & institutional (CII) construction spending (Billions of current dollars)
| Spending in August 2000 | Percent change from August 1999 | Spending in Jan.-Aug. 2000 | Percent change from Jan.-Aug. 1999 | 1999 total spending | Annual percent change 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
CII total |
$27.80 |
12.8% |
$196.79 |
10.0% |
$273.47 |
3.6% |
6.7% |
3.4% |
|
Commercial |
11.74 |
12.1 |
85.39 |
9.3 |
119.65 |
8.1 |
5.6 |
0.4 |
|
Office |
4.63 |
13.2 |
34.30 |
12.3 |
46.57 |
10.3 |
8.8 |
5.1 |
|
Retail |
5.66 |
11.2 |
39.96 |
8.8 |
57.14 |
6.6 |
5.6 |
-4.0 |
|
Hotel/motel |
1.44 |
12.1 |
11.14 |
2.5 |
15.94 |
7.6 |
-3.7 |
2.0 |
|
Industrial |
3.58 |
20.1 |
25.44 |
8.4 |
34.90 |
-13.8 |
7.7 |
5.0 |
|
Institutional |
12.49 |
11.5 |
85.96 |
11.1 |
118.92 |
5.4 |
7.6 |
6.0 |
|
Health care |
1.65 |
11.9 |
12.58 |
10.2 |
17.59 |
-0.6 |
7.1 |
2.8 |
|
Education |
5.94 |
15.7 |
37.64 |
16.0 |
49.51 |
7.8 |
11.0 |
8.0 |
|
Other institutional |
4.90 |
6.6 |
35.75 |
6.7 |
51.82 |
5.3 |
4.6 |
5.1 |
|
Multifamily |
2.43 |
-1.2 |
18.72 |
3.7 |
27.26 |
10.9 |
2.0 |
4.4 |
Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce; forecast: Cahners Economics
Cost comparisons per square foot in select metro markets
| Auditorium'00 | '99 | % chg. | Fire station'00 | '99 | % chg. | Gymnasium'00 | '99 | % chg. | Library'00 | '99 | % chg. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Atlanta |
96.78 |
92.00 |
5.2 |
87.07 |
78.32 |
11.2 |
88.24 |
78.81 |
12.0 |
90.75 |
80.32 |
13.0 |
|
Baltimore |
98.82 |
93.95 |
5.2 |
88.91 |
80.84 |
10.0 |
90.10 |
81.29 |
10.8 |
92.67 |
82.85 |
11.9 |
|
Boston |
125.95 |
120.48 |
4.5 |
113.31 |
103.61 |
9.4 |
114.84 |
104.25 |
10.2 |
118.11 |
106.25 |
11.2 |
|
Chicago |
119.49 |
114.33 |
4.5 |
107.50 |
98.32 |
9.3 |
108.95 |
98.93 |
10.1 |
112.05 |
100.83 |
11.1 |
|
Cleveland |
111.31 |
105.83 |
5.2 |
100.14 |
91.01 |
10.0 |
101.49 |
90.22 |
12.5 |
104.38 |
92.98 |
12.3 |
|
Dallas |
93.87 |
89.64 |
4.7 |
84.45 |
76.47 |
10.4 |
85.59 |
76.95 |
11.2 |
88.03 |
78.42 |
12.3 |
|
Denver |
102.59 |
97.33 |
5.4 |
92.30 |
83.70 |
10.3 |
93.54 |
84.22 |
11.1 |
96.21 |
85.83 |
12.1 |
|
Detroit |
114.11 |
108.80 |
4.9 |
102.66 |
93.56 |
9.7 |
104.04 |
94.15 |
10.5 |
107.01 |
95.95 |
11.5 |
|
Houston |
96.78 |
92.31 |
4.8 |
87.07 |
79.38 |
9.7 |
88.24 |
79.87 |
10.5 |
90.75 |
81.41 |
11.5 |
|
Kansas City |
107.54 |
101.63 |
5.8 |
96.75 |
86.78 |
11.5 |
98.05 |
86.32 |
13.6 |
100.85 |
88.99 |
13.3 |
|
Los Angeles |
118.42 |
113.21 |
4.6 |
106.54 |
98.05 |
8.7 |
107.79 |
97.96 |
10.2 |
111.05 |
98.84 |
11.2 |
|
Miami |
93.76 |
88.82 |
5.6 |
84.36 |
77.12 |
9.4 |
85.49 |
76.86 |
11.2 |
87.93 |
78.33 |
12.2 |
|
Minneapolis |
119.92 |
113.92 |
5.3 |
107.89 |
97.97 |
10.1 |
109.34 |
98.58 |
10.9 |
112.46 |
100.47 |
11.9 |
|
New Orleans |
93.44 |
88.11 |
6.1 |
84.07 |
76.08 |
10.5 |
85.19 |
76.24 |
11.7 |
87.62 |
77.70 |
12.8 |
|
New York City |
145.87 |
138.10 |
5.6 |
131.23 |
118.41 |
10.8 |
132.99 |
119.15 |
11.6 |
136.79 |
121.43 |
12.6 |
|
Philadelphia |
120.78 |
115.56 |
4.5 |
108.67 |
99.38 |
9.3 |
110.12 |
100.00 |
10.1 |
113.27 |
101.91 |
11.1 |
|
Phoenix |
97.21 |
92.51 |
5.1 |
87.46 |
79.55 |
9.9 |
88.63 |
80.05 |
10.7 |
91.16 |
81.59 |
11.7 |
|
Pittsburgh |
110.99 |
105.73 |
5.0 |
99.85 |
90.92 |
9.8 |
101.19 |
91.49 |
10.6 |
104.08 |
93.24 |
11.6 |
|
Portland |
116.37 |
109.52 |
6.3 |
104.69 |
94.18 |
11.2 |
106.10 |
94.77 |
12.0 |
109.13 |
96.58 |
13.0 |
|
St. Louis |
111.53 |
106.65 |
4.6 |
100.34 |
90.65 |
10.7 |
101.68 |
91.22 |
11.5 |
104.58 |
92.97 |
12.5 |
|
San Diego |
115.51 |
110.03 |
5.0 |
103.92 |
94.62 |
9.8 |
105.31 |
95.21 |
10.6 |
108.32 |
97.04 |
11.6 |
|
San Francisco |
133.49 |
127.86 |
4.4 |
120.09 |
109.77 |
9.4 |
121.71 |
110.46 |
10.2 |
125.18 |
112.58 |
11.2 |
|
Seattle |
114.32 |
109.21 |
4.7 |
102.85 |
92.79 |
10.8 |
104.24 |
93.17 |
11.9 |
107.21 |
94.96 |
12.9 |
|
Washington, D.C. |
103.67 |
98.86 |
4.9 |
93.27 |
84.31 |
10.6 |
94.52 |
84.84 |
11.4 |
97.21 |
86.46 |
12.4 |
|
Winston/Salem |
82.89 |
79.40 |
4.4 |
74.57 |
69.04 |
8.0 |
75.58 |
68.70 |
10.0 |
77.73 |
70.02 |
11.0 |
NOTE: Costs as shown are for the basic building and do not include: 1. sitework (site clearing and grading, utilities, paving, landscaping, site improvements); 2. land costs; 3. development costs; 4. specialty finishes or equipment. Square foot costs vary significantly from project to project due to quality, complexity and economic climate. Each project should be examined individually. For a detailed list of building components included in these figures, see Means Square Foot Costs.
R.S. Means Co., P.O. Box 800, Kingston, MA 02364, (781) 585-7880, (800) 448-8182
For more data, visit R.S. Means on the Web atwww.rsmeans.com.
To use an interactive tool that helps project costs, visit www.buildingteam.com .
