Willie B
Senior Member
Didn't want to derail DM's thread on heavy truck parts availability so let's start a new thread.
For the ones who purchase and install construction materials what are you seeing in terms of price increases and availability?
Here in AL the only RCP (reinforced concrete pipe) manufacturer originally went up 30% across the board and now is not taking any orders regardless of customer for at least 6 months. We purchase RCP through our pipe supplier which is the pipe manufacturers biggest buyer so size is not making a difference. Fortunately we have a couple of pre-cast manhole and structure manufacturers to choose from so that hasn't become an issue yet.
We can get HDPE (corrugated plastic), some PVC depending on type (corrugated, SDR grades, PVC) and ductile, although 4" ductile is very hard to find. All of the type pipes above just had a 15-20% price increase in the last month.
Since we install a fair amount of storm drainage I've had to scramble to substitute RCP with HDPE on our current and upcoming jobs. At least now most of the GC"s and owners know about the RCP shortage and don't look at me like I have 3 heads when I tell them we cannot get it.
Fortunately ALDOT approves HDPE and corrugated PVC (A2000) pipe so it's easier to persuade engineers to change the spec on private jobs. So far we can still get plastic pipe.
Ordered 80 LF of 8" ductile for a road crossing this week and it was $32 per LF. The real kicker is the pipe plant where they make the damn pipe is literally 10-12 miles from that job. Here in Central AL we have 2 large ductile iron pipe mills that produce 1,000's of feet of pipe.
Crushed stone has increased 15-25% as well with outages of certain screen sizes. Wanted 3/4 crush this week for a road crossing but had to settle on 8910 which is 1/4 to dust.
Thursday our silt fence subcontractor informed us that non-woven silt fence fabric is on an 8 week back order. If that's the case it's going to either stop alot of construction or muni's are going to have to accept other erosion control measures.
Equipment is hit or miss. Depending on machine Cat has plenty or none. We bought a B6 hammer for our 305 and picking it up Monday. Talked to the Bobcat guys last week and they are on allocation for new skids and mini's with most of them pre-sold.
So what are ya'll experiencing out there?
I'm a self employed electrician, me & my son. Planning ahead, I've been able to buy materials, but costs have risen sharply. Average material cost is 3-4 times what it was in 2018. Certain items are made from unobtanium, and I'm out of luck. Generators have been back ordered since January 2020. I'll order, then wait 6 months. The lack of generators has sharply increased demand. I've sold at least three times as many as in past years, despite long waits & price escalation.
Case machine parts have been 6 month backorder.