Verisk Industry Trends for 4th Quarter 2018

Materials

Material costs are highly variable and are sometimes impacted by factors such as fuel costs, changes to industry practices, or natural disasters. Xactware closely monitors a wide variety of material costs across the country to ensure its price lists reflect any recent changes to pricing.

In the third quarter of 2018, Xactware observed changes to several material categories. Lumber and Roofing material costs had the largest quarterly per cent change: they each increased 1.41 per cent since July. Paint material costs had the largest annual per cent change with an 8.21 per cent increase.

The Material Composite Index report tracks a combination of several commonly used material components, including floor covering, paint, and roofing. The index showed a 1.37 per cent increase in the third quarter of 2018 and a 4.58 per cent cost increase since October 2017.

Labour

Xactware’s Pricing Data Services also surveys thousands of contractors across the country each month to determine what they are charging for labour. The most significant quarterly change occurred in the labour cost of a flooring installer, which increased 2.91 per cent. The most significant annual change occurred in the labour cost of a drywall installer which increased 6.64 per cent.

The Retail Labour Index tracks a combination of several common trades, including floor covering, painting, and roofing among others. In the third quarter of 2018, the index showed a 0.7 per cent cost increase. Since October 2017, it showed a cost increase of 4.4 per cent.

Combined Trends

The Combined Labour and Materials report is based on monthly building cost data published by Xactware. It comprises a set of commonly used items and may be used as an indicator of trends within the marketplace. The combination of labour and materials makes up the majority of Xactware price list items. Tracking the per cent change for the cost of these items provides a good gauge of the general market.

The Combined Labour and Materials report showed a cost increase of 0.81 per cent in the third quarter of 2018 and a 3.03 per cent increase since October 2017.

Fuel Costs

Fuel costs are extremely volatile and are a factor in item pricing, since high oil prices can push up the price of some raw materials. Fuel prices decreased 2.7 per cent over the third quarter of 2018 and increased 15.41 per cent over the last year. Xactware’s Pricing Data Services carefully tracks fuel costs to ensure accurate pricing.

Where to Learn More

Annual Property Report

Xactware publishes annual property reports that focus on key trends during the previous calendar year. To order a copy of Xactware’s Property Report for Canada or the United States, please visit the Xactware Online Store.

Industry Trend Reports

Using Industry Trend Reports, Xactware customers can examine pricing trends on national, state or province, and local levels for key material and labour pricing changes in multiple trades. Trends can be viewed by the month or over extended periods of time. For more information about Xactware’s Industry Trend Reports, or to receive access to them, please contact your sales representative or call 1-800-424-9228.

Pricing Methodology White Paper

For more information about Xactware’s methodology for researching and publishing pricing information, please see the Pricing Research Methodology white paper on the eService Center.

Unless otherwise stated, the values reported in this bulletin are national averages for Canada and will vary from local prices.