The material price index for ‘All Work’ has increased by 23.5% in August 2021 compared to the same month the previous year, with a monthly 2.8% increase from July 2021.
The figures come from the Department for Business, Energy & Industry Strategy’s latest Monthly Statistics of Building Materials and Components, which broke down the increase further to reveal that Repair & Maintenance was hit hardest by the rising price index, with a 25.9% increase in the sector. Meanwhile, Other New Work saw a price index increase of 22.8% with New Housing seeing an increase of 22.4%.
Regarding particular materials, imported plywood saw the highest price increase of 78.4% year-on-year, followed by fabricated structured steel (74.8%) and imported sawn or planed wood (74%).
Sand and Gravel
Meanwhile, sales of sand & gravel increased by 1.7% in Q2 2021 compared to the previous quarter, which followed an increase of 4.7% in Q1.
However, Comparing Q2 2021 to Q1 2020 (before the lockdowns), sales of sand & gravel have decreased by 0.8%.
Ready-mixed concrete
In the meantime, ready-mixed concrete sales increased by 4.7% in Q2 2021 compared to the previous Quarter, which saw a 2.8% increase.
Sales of ready mixed concrete in Q2 2021 increased by 6.2% compared to Q1 2020, following a 1.5% increase in Q1 2021.
Bricks
Looking at deliveries of bricks, there was a 6.2% year-on-year increase in August 2021, following a 20.4% increase in July 2021, compared to July 2020.
Meanwhile, there was a month-on-month decrease of 3.9% in August 2021 which followed a month-on-month 5.2% increase in July 2021.
Imports and exports
Elsewhere, imports of construction materials increased by £328 million (7.1%) in Q2 2021 compared to the previous Quarter. Meanwhile, exports of construction materials increased by £202 million in Q2 2021 compared to the previous quarter, an increase of 12.1%.
As a result, between Q1 2021 and Q2 2021, the quarterly trade deficit widened by £126 million to £3,060 million, an increase of 4.3%. Over the whole of 2020, imports of construction materials decreased by 11% compared to 2019, from £18.1 million to £16.1 million. Whereas in the same period, exports of materials decreased by 10.4%, from £7.7 million to £6.9 million.
>>Read more about how material prices are impacting the industry here.
