Rising prices of building materials are not the only problem facing construction companies. Due to the current energy situation and the conflict in Ukraine, some commodities such as steel or wood are scarce in the market. According to data from the Czech Statistical Office (CSO), materials and products consumed in construction rose by 25.2 percent year on year.
“Generally speaking, it makes everything more expensive,” said Vojtěch Kostiha, a spokesman for the Metrostav Group. For example, polystyrene has risen in price by more than 200 percent since last January, and price increases of more than 100% are no exception. “Curry networks are significantly affected in the current situation and I estimate that their price will continue to rise and availability will be low. The same is true for cylindrical sheets, cylindrical profiles and pipes,” Kostiha calculated.
Prices are affected by the persisting effects of the covid pandemic, which has disrupted supply and demand chains, and rising energy and fuel prices. Uncertainty in the market increases demand, stocks are bought and traders do not even offer some materials. “This is not only about the price of building materials, but also about their availability,” said Ondřej Šuch, a spokesman for Skanska CS.
The shortage is exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, where many materials are imported. Asphalt, wood are missing and the critical situation is for structural steel. “There is a huge shortage on the market and it is completely missing in many places. Without it, the foundations of construction cannot be laid, if the company does not find it, it cannot build it,” said Evžen Korec, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Ekospol.
Ferrum, a specialist in metallurgical materials, said in April that the war in Ukraine had paralyzed the supply of certain grades of steel. Among other things, corrosion-resistant, used in construction. “And the minimum of structural steel that is now on the market is being sold at four times the price last year,” Kostiha said.
“Masonry elements become less expensive. Aerated concrete is made of natural materials, it is produced in the Czech Republic, so the lack of raw materials or dysfunctional shipping to Europe does not affect it so much. “said Peter Markovič, General Manager of Xella for the Czech Republic and Slovakia, whose company produces Ytong.
Started constructions will probably not endanger the current price and the lack of building materials. “Because companies already have the material for them,” Korec said. The planned projects, the construction of which has not yet begun, may have a problem. “It can be assumed that the launch of some due to missing material may be delayed,” he estimated. “Complications are and will be not only in the accessibility itself, but also in the time sequence on the construction sites,” Markovič added.
Source: CTK
