Surging material costs emphasize need for material estimating
Calculated Industries' Material Estimator is the tool of the hour.
Construction material prices and supply-chain disruptions are staggering contractors across the country as they struggle to get and pay for materials within budget and on schedule.
Material costs have gone up drastically in the last four months and in some cases have doubled in the last year according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ recent producer price index report. The Associated General Contractor’s Association’s March 2021 survey also found that contractors are also expereicncing wide-spread supoply-chain problems.
This spike in costs is the result of a perfect storm. Coming out of the Great Recession, a number of saw mills and manufacturing plants were idled due to a drop in demand. The COVID-19 pandemic shutdown spawned a major increase in DIY projects. Plus, the pandemic caused a notable push to move to the suburbs which has resulted in a demand for home remodels and new construction.
The diminished ability to produce on the supply side and the sudden surge on the demand side has created a vaccum which is delaying the availability of materials and causing prices to escalate by the month. This environment is hitting contractors especially hard because their normal approach to estimating for material requirements and budgeting for costs is not equipped for this kind of market.
“The ability to accurately determine material needs and the flexability to calculate costs including fluxuating allowances is more important in today’s market then ever,” said Steve Kennedy, President of Calculated Industries (CI). “Having an easy-to-use calculator like CI’s Material Estimator that helps you reduce estimating errors will enable you to get only the material you need minimizing waste that saves you time and money.”
The Material Estimator is a building materials estimating calculator designed for contractors, trades people and estimating professionals who need to estimate materials and costs for a variety of building materials. It lets you change stored values for materials so you can estimate what your costs will be when you buy the items and not what their cost was when you planned for the job.
Calculated Industries is one of the country’s leading manufacturers of specialty calculators, apps, digital measuring tools, and precision hand tools for industry and personal use. CI has developed tools for tasks ranging from construction and architecture to real estate and lending. CI products are designed and tech-supported in Carson City, Nevada.
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