Turner Construction Company's that the Fourth Quarter 2016 Turner Building Cost Index — which measures costs in the nonresidential building construction market in the United States — has increased to a value of 1006. This represents a 1.11% quarterly increase from the Third Quarter 2016 and a 4.90% yearly increase from the Fourth Quarter 2015.
The U.S. construction market continues to experience broad growth, with the West and Southeast regions seeing more significant gains, and the Northeast and Central regions seeing more moderate gains. Additionally, while raw material prices have remained flat, they have experienced an overall gain this year. Fabricated material prices have seen continuous growth this quarter.
“The shortage of skilled labor continues to be a key factor in cost increases across the construction industry,” said Attilio Rivetti, the Turner vice president responsible for the Cost Index. He continued, “As we move into 2017, we expect this focus on skilled labor to intensify, especially as the market remains busy.”
Turner has prepared the construction cost forecast for more than 80 years. Used widely by the construction industry and Federal and State governments, the building costs and price trends tracked by the Turner Building Cost Index may or may not reflect regional conditions in any given quarter. The Cost Index is determined by several factors considered on a nationwide basis, including labor rates and productivity, material prices and the competitive condition of the marketplace. This index does not necessarily conform to other published indices because others do not generally take all of these factors into account.
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