12 August 2016

2016- n° 211

In May 2016, producer costs for construction continued to rise moderately (+0.4%) Costs of production indices in construction - May 2016

In May 2016, producer costs in construction continued to rise moderately (+0.4% after +0.1% in April). Costs rose for all kinds of works, however more in civil engineering (+0.7%) than in construction of buildings and in specialised construction works.

Over a year, the fall in producer costs in construction eased (−0.2% after −0.4% in April and –0.5%% in March). The drop is mostly marked in civil engineering (-3.3%). The costs fell a little in construction of buildings (−0.2%) while they increased in specialised construction works (+0.5%).

In May 2016, material costs recovered in construction of buildings (+0.6%) after an uninterrupted decrease since June 2015. Over a year, however, they fell down by 3.9%. In civil engineering, the increase initiated in April gathered pace (+1.5% after +0.6%) due to the ongoing rise in prices of bitumen (+8.0%).

On the other hand, material costs decreased very slightly in specialised works for civil engineering (−0.1% after +0.3%) reflecting the drop in prices of electric lighting equipment (−1.9%) that offset a further increase in prices of ribbed bars (+4.0%).

In May 2016, equipment costs were virtually stable in public works (+0.1% after −0.3%) and stable in building construction (0.0% after −0.1%).

In May 2016, the costs of energy in building construction increased more sharply (+4.6%) than in the previous month (+0,8%), due to a new rise in prices of road diesel fuel.

In public works, these costs recovered (+3.9% after −0.7 %), because the prices of petroleum products continued to increase while the prices of electricity fell less than in April.