Industry Prices Easily Clip Inflation

The cost of materials and products for transportation construction rose an average of 12.6 percent in 2005 versus the prior year, and compares with a

The cost of materials and products for transportation construction rose an average of 12.6 percent in 2005 versus the prior year, and compares with a 3.4 percent increase in general goods and services. In an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index figures, American Road and Transportation Builders Association, Washington, D.C., cites these gains in the past two years and an eight-year trend dating to the expiration of the SAFETEA and TEA-21 highway bills’ predecessor, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act:

Concrete material/product 2003-04 2004-05 1998-2005 change
Cement 3% 12.6% 20.9%
Concrete block & brick 3% 8.9% 26%
Sand, gravel & stone 3.5% 9% 30.8%
Ready mixed 5.2% 12.2% 27.4%

The average for the four concrete-related categories is +26.25 percent in the 1998-2005 period. During that time, ARTBA reports Consumer Price Index and Highway & Street Construction figures of +19.8 percent and +35.1 percent.