Verisk Industry Trends for January 2018

The most significant annual change occurred in the Common Lumber Material report which showed an 18.21 percent increase in the U.S. and a 17.13 percent increase in Canada. Many factors may have impacted this drastic increase including the fires in British Columbia and new tariffs on imported lumber.

These percent changes are based on the averages that have been reported since the December 2017 price list publication and from January 2017 to January 2018. The information reported here is based on a national average, and it is important to note that actual changes will vary within each individual pricing market. It is also important to remember that Xactware's published pricing information is based on recently completed surveys and estimate transactions.

For more information about these trends over a longer period of time, read the Quarterly Pricing Trends or the Annual Property Report.

California Wildfires

The 2017 California wildfire season is the most destructive one on record. Currently, firefighters are still working to contain the Thomas Fire as it moves through Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Destroying over 1,060 buildings and damaging 280 more, the fire is the largest wildfire in modern California history and is the 7^th most destructive wildfire over the same period. Damage assessments and cleanup efforts are still ongoing. For more information about this event, see the storm report.

Xactware closely monitors the impact of disasters on item pricing. If needed, we will publish an interim price list to give those working in damaged areas the most accurate prices. As prices can change rapidly in the aftermath of any disaster, Xactware cannot guarantee that the prices within the published database will be adequate for any specific job. We strongly recommend that all customers monitor their local market for any such changes and adjust your estimate pricing as is appropriate.

Local market conditions

Xactware makes every effort to ensure pricing information contained in this update represents market costs at the time of publication. Since actual market prices can vary and change rapidly, and since many factors can affect the cost of a project (including—but not limited to—labor, equipment, and material costs as well as the rates and application of sales tax), we strongly recommend customers monitor their local markets for any such changes and adjust their estimate pricing as deemed appropriate.

Gasoline prices in the U.S. and Canada

Since the December 2017 publication, gasoline prices decreased 4.6 percent in the United States and 5.18 percent in Canada. When compared to January 2017, gasoline prices increased 8.2 percent in the United States and 11.74 percent in Canada.

Because gasoline prices can change rapidly, Xactware recommends users monitor their local costs to determine whether repair or construction costs are affected. For further details, see the U.S. Department of Energy website.

* Canada prices are per liter

XactContents pricing update

Since the last price list update, the XactContents pricing team continued to improve the master item list in both the United States and Canada. They added Leatherman as a vendor and updated the iPad general quote items so they better reflect the current available options.

United States