Prices of construction materials post faster growth in September

MANILA, Philippines — Retail prices of construction materials in Metro Manila went up at a faster pace in September from the previous month as four out of seven commodity groups posted higher increments

Growth in bulk prices of building materials in the National Capital Region (NCR) meanwhile, were unchanged in September.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the Construction Materials Retail Price Index (CMRPI) in NCR posted a 1.2 percent growth in September, slightly faster than the 1.1 percent recorded in the previous month and 1.1 percent in September 2023.

“The primary contributor to the uptrend of CMRPI in NCR was the higher annual increase observed in the index of plumbing materials at 0.8 percent in September 2024 from 0.2 percent in the previous month,” the PSA said.

It said three other commodity groups registered higher increments in September compared to August.

In particular, carpentry materials had a higher growth rate of 0.7 percent in September from the previous month’s 0.6 percent.

Painting materials and related compounds had a faster growth rate of 2.1 percent in September from 1.9 percent in August.

Miscellaneous construction materials also registered a higher increase of 1.5 percent in September from 1.3 percent in the previous month.

On the other hand, slower annual increases were posted by electrical materials at 1.7 percent in September from 1.8 percent in the previous month, and tinsmithry materials at 1.5 percent from 1.7 percent in August.

Masonry materials retained its previous month’s annual drop of 0.1 percent in September.

Average CMRPI growth from January to September of this year was at one percent.

Data released separately by the PSA showed that the year-on-year growth rate of the Construction Materials Wholesale Price Index (CMWPI) in NCR was at 0.3 percent in September, the same growth rate posted in August.

CMWPI growth in September this year, however, was lower than the 2.2 percent increase in the same month last year.

From January to September, average CMWPI growth was at 0.7 percent.