In the last couple of weeks this question has become way more frequent. People who received bids earlier in the year, that are now needing their estimate updated, are blown away. We bid work a little different than most other Contractors. Alot of this industry doesn’t find out if they are making/losing money until the end of the quarter or even the end of the year.
You may have noticed that the majority give you a sq ft price. Every so often the accountant lets them know if the price they are charging is enough or not and then they make the changes necessary. We itemize our bids so if the price of concrete or rebar change the correction is made in real time. There is no lag what so ever.
So what is it that is driving the cost of concrete work up so high? It’s pretty much everything…. The price of rebar or concrete is a direct price increase that is easy to see. It has gone way up over the last year. Another apparent issue is the price of fuel. We put on a lot of miles and all that driving adds up when Diesel is pushing $4 per gallon. As far as misc consumables like: tape, plastic sheeting to protect walls, garbage bags to keep the site clean, and rebar chairs to hold the rebar up, this stuff is all on the rise. It seems to be hitting from every direction.
The one most people don’t think about though is the increase in labor cost. When the price of a loaf of bread goes up so do the wages, plain and simple. The people who work here are the company and they need to be taken care of. We could get into various insurances, the tires on the truck and the accountant’s prices but I don’t think anything more needs to be said. Unfortunately I don’t see this inflation getting better for a while so if you want to get work done do it now. It’s just going to get more expensive in the years to come.
Thank you for taking the time
Jon Molden
BST Concrete
