Construction costs up across North America
By Adam Freill
ConstructionQuarterly Cost Report from international property and construction consultancy firm Rider Levett Bucknall shows that the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry faces strong headwinds.
Over the past 12 months, (bid) construction costs have risen by 7.42 per cent in North America, says Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) in its latest Quarterly Construction Cost Report (QCR). In Canada, costs in Toronto grew more than 13 per cent between October of 2020 and October of 2021. Further west, in Calgary, cost increases were north of 10 per cent.
The QCR provides a statistical view of the state of the construction industry, detailing indicative construction costs for eight building sectors.
“It can be argued that some of the increase in 2021 may simply be catching up on the low rate of increase in 2020, but it is more likely a reaction to the combination of the labour shortages and supply chain issues that the industry has encountered,” said Julian Anderson, president of Rider Levett Bucknall North America. “In my opinion, while 2022 should be less frenetic than 2020 and 2021, it is unlikely that we will see any relief from the current high rate of cost increases until some of the heat goes out of the economy.”
The complete Rider Levett Bucknall QCR report can be accessed here.
