Insee
Informations Rapides · 19 March 2021 · n° 071
Informations rapidesIn Q4 2020, the production costs in construction decreased by 0.4% Costs of production indices in construction - fourth quarter 2020

In Q4 2020, the production costs in construction retreated (–0.4% after +0.2% in the previous quarter). The decrease was mainly due to a decline of costs in civil engineering (–1.5% after +2.7%) linked to those of bitumen prices. However, costs in specialized construction works were virtually stable (–0.1% after –0.3%), as were those in buildings construction (stability after –0.3%).

Over a year, the production costs for construction increased by 1.3%, as in the third quarter 2020: the costs stepped back again slightly in civil engineering (–0.5% after –0.4%) while they kept increasing in specialized construction works (+1.7% as in the previous quarter) and accelerated slightly in buildings construction (+1.7% after +1.4%).

Informations rapides
No 071
Paru le :Paru le19/03/2021
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Since the present release, the series 010566996 “Labour cost in construction (section F)” is discarded. Users are advised to refer to the index 010599836 “Labour cost index – Total labour costs – Construction (item F)”: https://www.insee.fr/en/statistiques/serie/010599836.

In Q4 2020, the production costs in construction retreated (–0.4% after +0.2% in the previous quarter). The decrease was mainly due to a decline of costs in civil engineering (–1.5% after +2.7%) linked to those of bitumen prices. However, costs in specialized construction works were virtually stable (–0.1% after –0.3%), as were those in buildings construction (stability after –0.3%).

Over a year, the production costs for construction increased by 1.3%, as in the third quarter 2020: the costs stepped back again slightly in civil engineering (–0.5% after –0.4%) while they kept increasing in specialized construction works (+1.7% as in the previous quarter) and accelerated slightly in buildings construction (+1.7% after +1.4%).

Variations in producer cost indices for construction

In %
Variations in producer cost indices for construction (In %)
Heading Weights (in %) Q4 2020/ Q3 2020 Q4 2020/ Q4 2019
F Construction 100.0 -0.4 1.3
 41.2 Construction of buildings 10.2 0.0 1.7
 42 Civil engineering 15.9 -1.5 -0.5
 43 Specialised construction works 73.9 -0.1 1.7
   43BT Buildings 65.2 -0.2 1.8
      43BTC New buildings 24.7 -0.1 1.6
      43BTR Existing buildings 40.5 -0.3 1.9
   43TP Specialised works for civil engineering 8.7 0.0 0.3
Buildings (41.2 + 43BT) 75.4 -0.1 1.8
Public works (42 + 43TP) 24.6 -1.0 -0.2
  • Source : INSEE

Breakdown of production costs in construction

In %
Breakdown of production costs in construction (In %)
Costs items Q4 2020/ Q3 2020 Q4 2020/ Q4 2019
Equipment Buildings -1.0 0.9
Public works -0.3 -0.4
Labour Labour costs in construction 1.6 4.2
Energy Buildings -0.3 -15.7
Public works 2.0 -13.6
Materials Construction of buildings 0.6 1.0
Existing buildings 0.3 0.6
Civil engineering -3.9 -1.4
Specialised works for civil engineering 0.1 0.7
  • Source : INSEE

Production costs in construction

Production costs in construction
Construction of buildings Civil engineering Specialised construction works Construction
2015-01 100.1 100.0 99.9 99.9
2015-02 100.2 99.3 100.0 99.9
2015-03 100.2 100.8 100.1 100.2
2015-04 100.2 101.0 100.0 100.2
2015-05 100.3 101.7 100.1 100.4
2015-06 100.1 102.0 100.1 100.4
2015-07 100.2 101.7 100.1 100.4
2015-08 100.2 100.6 100.1 100.2
2015-09 99.7 98.9 99.8 99.7
2015-10 99.5 98.4 99.8 99.5
2015-11 99.6 98.2 100.0 99.7
2015-12 99.5 97.3 99.9 99.5
2016-01 99.3 96.1 99.8 99.2
2016-02 99.2 95.7 99.9 99.1
2016-03 99.4 96.0 100.1 99.4
2016-04 99.3 96.3 100.0 99.4
2016-05 99.6 97.1 100.2 99.6
2016-06 100.0 98.5 100.5 100.1
2016-07 100.2 99.0 100.6 100.3
2016-08 100.4 98.9 100.8 100.4
2016-09 100.5 99.1 100.9 100.5
2016-10 100.4 99.6 100.9 100.6
2016-11 100.5 100.2 100.9 100.7
2016-12 100.7 100.6 101.2 101.0
2017-01 101.3 102.7 101.8 101.9
2017-02 101.7 102.9 102.1 102.2
2017-03 102.0 102.9 102.4 102.5
2017-04 102.3 102.5 102.6 102.6
2017-05 102.2 102.7 102.5 102.5
2017-06 102.2 102.3 102.6 102.5
2017-07 102.2 102.1 102.6 102.5
2017-08 102.4 102.2 102.7 102.6
2017-09 102.2 102.5 102.6 102.5
2017-10 103.0 103.4 103.2 103.2
2017-11 103.3 104.2 103.7 103.7
2017-12 103.8 105.0 104.1 104.2
2018-01 104.1 105.7 104.4 104.6
2018-02 104.1 105.7 104.4 104.6
2018-03 104.0 105.2 104.3 104.4
2018-04 104.4 105.9 104.6 104.8
2018-05 104.8 107.2 105.1 105.4
2018-06 104.9 109.0 105.3 105.8
2018-07 105.0 109.3 105.5 106.0
2018-08 105.2 109.8 105.6 106.3
2018-09 105.2 110.0 105.6 106.3
2018-10 105.3 110.6 105.8 106.5
2018-11 105.2 111.3 105.6 106.5
2018-12 105.1 109.4 105.6 106.1
2019-01 105.7 108.3 106.0 106.4
2019-02 106.2 109.2 106.6 107.0
2019-03 106.5 110.8 107.0 107.6
2019-04 106.5 111.1 107.0 107.6
2019-05 106.3 111.3 106.8 107.4
2019-06 106.2 110.6 106.5 107.1
2019-07 106.4 110.3 106.8 107.3
2019-08 106.7 110.5 107.0 107.5
2019-09 106.7 109.5 107.1 107.5
2019-10 106.5 109.7 107.0 107.4
2019-11 106.3 108.1 106.8 106.9
2019-12 106.2 107.7 106.7 106.8
2020-01 106.6 109.4 107.1 107.4
2020-02 106.7 110.3 107.3 107.7
2020-03 106.8 109.4 107.4 107.7
2020-04 107.4 106.0 108.0 107.6
2020-05 108.4 106.2 109.0 108.5
2020-06 109.5 108.0 110.2 109.8
2020-07 108.7 110.3 109.5 109.6
2020-08 108.1 109.8 108.8 108.9
2020-09 107.4 108.8 107.9 108.0
2020-10 107.6 107.7 108.2 108.0
2020-11 108.1 107.7 108.5 108.3
2020-12 108.6 108.5 109.1 108.9

Production costs in construction

  • Source: INSEE.

Material cost decreased in civil engineering

In Q4 2020, the cost of materials retreated in civil engineering (–3.9% after +7.3% in the previous quarter) led by the decrease in bitumen prices. However it increased in construction works on new buildings (+0.6% after +0.1%), on existing buildings (+0.3% after +0.5%) and it was virtually stable in specialised works for civil engineering (+0.1% after –0.3%).

Over a year, the decline of material cost continued in civil engineering (–1.4% after –1.1% in the third quarter 2020). The cost rebounded in specialised works for civil engineering (+0.7% after –0.3%) and in buildings construction (+1.0% after –0.3%). It accelerated slightly in construction works in existing buildings (+0.6% after +0.2%).

Material cost

Material cost
Construction of buildings Civil engineering Existing buildings Special works for civil engin.
2015-01 100.8 101.1 100.6 100.9
2015-02 100.9 97.7 100.5 100.1
2015-03 100.8 101.7 100.4 99.9
2015-04 100.8 101.8 100.2 100.2
2015-05 100.9 103.7 100.3 100.4
2015-06 100.4 104.8 100.2 100.3
2015-07 100.3 104.2 100.2 100.1
2015-08 100.3 102.1 100.2 100.6
2015-09 99.6 97.5 99.8 100.1
2015-10 99.0 96.2 99.7 99.6
2015-11 98.6 95.4 99.1 99.2
2015-12 97.8 93.8 98.8 98.6
2016-01 97.0 90.0 98.5 99.2
2016-02 96.5 88.8 98.1 98.6
2016-03 96.3 88.8 98.1 98.0
2016-04 96.2 89.6 97.9 98.3
2016-05 97.0 91.1 98.2 98.4
2016-06 97.9 94.5 98.7 98.7
2016-07 98.0 96.1 98.7 98.7
2016-08 98.5 95.7 98.9 98.7
2016-09 98.6 96.1 98.9 98.8
2016-10 97.9 96.6 98.5 98.5
2016-11 97.9 98.1 98.5 98.3
2016-12 98.2 98.5 98.9 98.2
2017-01 99.1 102.9 99.8 99.2
2017-02 99.4 102.8 100.0 99.1
2017-03 99.7 102.7 100.3 98.9
2017-04 100.2 101.5 100.6 98.9
2017-05 100.1 102.6 100.7 99.3
2017-06 100.1 101.8 100.9 99.1
2017-07 99.8 101.5 100.8 99.2
2017-08 100.2 101.7 101.2 99.2
2017-09 100.2 102.3 100.9 99.4
2017-10 101.2 103.7 101.5 99.9
2017-11 101.2 104.6 101.4 100.2
2017-12 101.4 106.0 101.5 100.1
2018-01 102.4 106.4 102.3 101.3
2018-02 102.6 106.6 102.5 101.2
2018-03 102.7 105.7 102.6 101.3
2018-04 103.1 106.7 103.3 101.8
2018-05 103.3 109.3 103.8 102.2
2018-06 103.1 113.6 103.6 101.6
2018-07 102.8 114.1 103.6 101.6
2018-08 103.1 115.3 103.6 101.9
2018-09 103.2 115.5 103.5 102.1
2018-10 103.3 116.6 103.4 101.9
2018-11 103.1 119.3 103.5 101.6
2018-12 102.8 114.7 103.4 101.1
2019-01 103.8 110.7 104.0 103.0
2019-02 104.0 111.9 104.3 102.7
2019-03 104.2 115.2 104.4 102.8
2019-04 104.1 116.1 104.5 103.1
2019-05 104.1 117.4 104.5 103.0
2019-06 104.1 116.3 104.0 102.8
2019-07 103.7 114.8 103.6 102.6
2019-08 103.8 115.3 103.4 102.4
2019-09 103.6 111.7 103.3 102.2
2019-10 103.2 112.9 103.2 101.7
2019-11 103.0 108.9 103.5 101.5
2019-12 103.0 107.6 103.3 101.3
2020-01 103.4 111.8 103.5 102.0
2020-02 103.2 114.2 103.6 102.1
2020-03 103.3 112.9 103.7 102.3
2020-04 103.0 104.6 103.4 102.5
2020-05 103.4 103.9 103.0 102.5
2020-06 103.7 106.3 103.0 102.2
2020-07 103.2 113.1 103.2 102.0
2020-08 103.4 112.9 103.7 102.1
2020-09 103.7 111.9 104.0 102.1
2020-10 103.7 108.7 103.9 102.1
2020-11 104.1 107.7 103.8 102.4
2020-12 104.4 108.3 104.2 102.1

Material cost

  • Source: INSEE.

Equipment cost decreased

In Q4 2020, equipment cost decreased in buildings construction over a quarter (–1.0% after +0.3% in the previous quarter) as well as in civil engineering works but to as lesser extent (–0.3% after +1.0%).

Over a year, equipment cost slowed down in building construction (+0.9% after +2.6%). It kept declining in civil engineering works (–0.4% after –0.9% in the previous quarter).

Equipment cost

Equipment cost
Public works Buildings
2015-01 99.9 99.1
2015-02 100.0 98.7
2015-03 100.0 99.1
2015-04 99.7 98.5
2015-05 99.6 99.1
2015-06 99.7 99.4
2015-07 99.8 98.8
2015-08 100.8 100.2
2015-09 100.5 100.2
2015-10 100.3 101.9
2015-11 100.0 103.2
2015-12 99.7 101.9
2016-01 100.0 100.6
2016-02 100.0 100.7
2016-03 100.2 101.2
2016-04 100.1 100.7
2016-05 100.2 100.1
2016-06 100.1 101.2
2016-07 99.9 100.3
2016-08 99.9 100.3
2016-09 100.0 100.5
2016-10 99.7 101.1
2016-11 99.9 100.7
2016-12 100.0 100.7
2017-01 100.4 101.2
2017-02 100.7 99.9
2017-03 100.6 100.1
2017-04 100.6 100.2
2017-05 100.6 100.1
2017-06 100.6 99.9
2017-07 100.1 99.9
2017-08 100.2 100.0
2017-09 100.2 99.8
2017-10 100.4 100.0
2017-11 100.3 99.9
2017-12 100.1 100.1
2018-01 100.6 100.1
2018-02 100.6 100.2
2018-03 100.5 100.2
2018-04 100.7 98.3
2018-05 100.8 99.2
2018-06 101.0 100.2
2018-07 101.1 100.6
2018-08 100.9 100.6
2018-09 101.1 100.8
2018-10 100.4 100.8
2018-11 100.6 100.9
2018-12 100.6 101.2
2019-01 101.4 100.3
2019-02 101.5 100.6
2019-03 101.9 101.4
2019-04 101.4 102.4
2019-05 101.1 101.9
2019-06 101.2 101.9
2019-07 101.5 101.9
2019-08 101.5 101.7
2019-09 101.9 101.7
2019-10 101.2 102.4
2019-11 100.6 102.0
2019-12 100.7 102.9
2020-01 100.2 103.2
2020-02 100.8 103.9
2020-03 101.4 104.2
2020-04 99.8 103.9
2020-05 99.7 104.1
2020-06 99.8 104.3
2020-07 100.5 104.2
2020-08 100.8 104.4
2020-09 101.0 104.5
2020-10 100.3 104.4
2020-11 100.5 102.8
2020-12 100.6 102.9

Equipment cost

  • Source: INSEE

Energy prices decreased slightly in buildings construction but still increased in civil engineering works

In Q4 2020, the cost of energy decreased slightly in building construction (–0.3% after +2.3% in the previous quarter) and kept rising in civil engineering works (+2.0% after +3.1%), driven up by heavy fuel and electricity prices.

The cost of energy remained significantly lower than a year before in building construction (–15.7% after –14.0%) as in civil engineering (–13.6% after –14.6%).

Energy cost

Energy cost
Buildings Public works
2015-01 96.9 95.7
2015-02 101.7 104.1
2015-03 104.8 105.3
2015-04 104.4 107.7
2015-05 106.7 109.1
2015-06 105.3 107.4
2015-07 102.8 102.8
2015-08 97.6 96.1
2015-09 95.8 95.3
2015-10 95.8 94.8
2015-11 95.2 94.4
2015-12 92.9 87.3
2016-01 89.0 86.1
2016-02 88.2 85.8
2016-03 91.2 88.7
2016-04 91.9 88.8
2016-05 96.1 93.2
2016-06 100.7 96.7
2016-07 98.3 93.8
2016-08 95.2 93.1
2016-09 96.6 94.0
2016-10 98.9 98.0
2016-11 100.2 98.2
2016-12 101.2 102.5
2017-01 109.6 108.5
2017-02 109.7 108.8
2017-03 108.1 106.4
2017-04 107.8 105.8
2017-05 105.1 102.7
2017-06 102.6 99.6
2017-07 101.6 99.6
2017-08 103.6 100.9
2017-09 105.6 103.1
2017-10 107.6 104.7
2017-11 110.2 108.7
2017-12 110.6 109.5
2018-01 120.1 118.2
2018-02 119.3 117.3
2018-03 118.6 116.9
2018-04 121.2 119.4
2018-05 125.7 122.3
2018-06 126.9 123.1
2018-07 125.4 122.7
2018-08 125.7 123.2
2018-09 128.0 125.0
2018-10 132.0 129.3
2018-11 128.4 125.1
2018-12 123.2 119.7
2019-01 121.2 119.6
2019-02 124.5 124.8
2019-03 126.6 126.6
2019-04 127.3 127.1
2019-05 128.5 125.6
2019-06 123.6 119.9
2019-07 123.2 121.1
2019-08 122.4 118.6
2019-09 124.3 121.6
2019-10 124.8 120.3
2019-11 124.8 120.8
2019-12 126.7 122.9
2020-01 127.5 124.0
2020-02 121.3 119.7
2020-03 112.7 108.5
2020-04 105.4 99.8
2020-05 101.1 97.6
2020-06 104.6 101.6
2020-07 107.2 103.7
2020-08 106.7 103.5
2020-09 104.2 101.2
2020-10 103.9 101.6
2020-11 104.7 103.8
2020-12 108.6 109.1

Energy cost

  • Source: INSEE.

Labour cost in construction bounced back

In Q4 2020, labour cost in construction rebounded (+1.6% after –3.9% in the previous quarter). Over a year, it accelerated (+4.2% after +1.8%).

Revision

In Q3 2020, the variation in producer costs in construction has been revised downward about 0.2 points to +0.2% instead of +0.4% as published in December 2020.

For further information

Monthly production cost indices are released every three months.

These indices aggregate the cost indices of six factors of production, four of which are commented here (equipment, labour, energy and materials) and account for more than 8/9 in the calculation of the producer costs in construction.

These indices are subject to revision. They are primarily used as inputs for the national accounts and macroeconomics analyses.

Next issue: end of June 2021

Documentation

Producer cost indices for construction

Pour en savoir plus

Monthly production cost indices are released every three months.

These indices aggregate the cost indices of six factors of production, four of which are commented here (equipment, labour, energy and materials) and account for more than 8/9 in the calculation of the producer costs in construction.

These indices are subject to revision. They are primarily used as inputs for the national accounts and macroeconomics analyses.

Next issue: end of June 2021

: bureau-de-presse@insee.fr

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Time series: Producer costs indices for construction