Prices of building materials spike as NCR lockdowns ease

MANILA, Philippines — Retail and wholesale prices of building materials in Metro Manila surged in September as business activities resumed with the easing of quarantine measures in the capital, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

The Construction Materials Retail Price Index (CMRPI) in the National Capital Region went up to two percent from 1.6 percent in August.

Likewise, the latest Construction Materials Wholesale Price Index (CMWPI), which is used as a reference in the costing of government projects, rose at a faster pace of 4.6 percent from the month-ago mark of 4.3 percent.

The faster uptick for both indexes was a result of the continued returning demand in construction, especially as quarantine measures in the capital were loosened during the period.

Last month, the government piloted the Alert Level system in Metro Manila and imposed granular lockdowns in high risk areas instead of a capital-wide mobility curb.

This allowed more business activities to resume operations.

For CMRPI, annual increment was faster across the seven indexes led by tinsmithry materials at 3.1 percent. It was followed by miscellaneous construction materials at 2.5 percent.

Increases were also recorded in the materials for carpentry, electrical, masonry, painting and related compounds, and plumbing.

For CMWPI, the index of fuels and lubricants registered the highest increase at 22.3 percent, registering a four-month high.

Faster increments were also seen in the indexes of the following commodity groups: reinforcing and structural steel, plywood, galvanized iron sheet, PVC pipes, and concrete products and cement.

Declines, on the other hand, were recorded in sand and gravel, hardware, plumbing fixtures and accessories, doors, jambs, and steel casement, electrical works and painting works.

Commodity groups with stable growth include glass products, asphalt, equipment rentals, lumber, and tile works.

The CMRPI is a variant of the General Retail Price Index (GRPI) that measures the changes in the average retail prices of construction materials. It uses 2012 as the base year.

It covers 102 building materials classified into seven commodity groups. Prices for the CMRPI are collected through personal interviews or actual price quotations from selected sample outlets in NCR.

Collection of prices is done during the first to third week of the reference month.

On the other hand, the 2012-based CMWPI covers 101 items.

The market basket includes selected construction materials identified from the bills of materials provided by the Department of Public Works and Highways, National Housing Authority, and Subdivision and Housing Developers Association.