Commodities Watch


Material: Concrete

Highlights:

  • While construction commodities pricing rose again in April, the 1.4% increase is still lower than the 2% increase experienced a month earlier. Since the price survey week (second week of April), world commodity prices have dropped sharply.
  • Pricing for ready mix concrete is down 0.3% from March and 0.3% from April 2010.
  • While the pricing for concrete block and brick is down 0.2% from March, the index is up 0.1% since April 2010.
  • Pricing for prestressed concrete is up 1.4% from March, but the index is down 1.6% since April 2010.
  • Pricing for precast concrete products is up 0.8% from March and 1.9% since April 2010.
  • Pricing for concrete pipe is down 0.2% from March but up 0.7% since April 2010.

    Quote:

    “Traditionally, asphalt has been cheaper than concrete, but the rising cost of oil has made concrete more cost-competitive.” – Brian Johnson, Finance & Commerce, Concrete industry blasts asphalt in ad campaign, Apr. 11, 2011


    Graph: Concrete Products Pricing

    Concrete Products PPI Commodity Price Index

    Material: Plastic Resin

    Highlights:

    • While construction commodities pricing rose again in April, the 1.4% increase is still lower than the 2% increase experienced a month earlier. Since the price survey week (second week of April), world commodity prices have dropped sharply.
    • While most commodities pricing dropped in April, pricing for plastic resins and materials rose 2.6% from March, and is up 3.9% from January and 7.6% from April 2008.
    • This increase comes from the sharp rise in crude prices earlier in the year.

      Quote:

      “Any meaningful discussion relating to the price of resin really must start with a look at what is happening in the oil industry. Although you’ll hear from some that plastic prices have become ‘decoupled’ from crude, at the end of the day there simply must always be a correlation … oil is selling at a price that is based upon market factors instead of a reflection of production costs. As the price of crude continues to increase, the price of plastics that are produced from oil feedstocks must increase as well. The same holds true for those resins that utilize feedstocks from natural gas. Simply put, if the price of flour goes up, the baker has to raise the price of the cake if he wants to keep his margin.” – Mike Kmetz, IDES - The Plastics Web, What's Really Going On With Plastic Prices?, Feb. 17, 2011


      Graph: Plastic Resins Pricing

      Plastic Resins PPI Commodity Price Index