Verisk Industry Trends for May 2022

Since May 2021, the Common Lumber Material Report showed the largest increase of 9.88 percent in Canada while the 30-yr Laminated Shingle Labor and Material report had the largest increase in the United States with an increase of 11.84. Since our April 2022 publication the 30-yr Laminated Shingle Labor and Material report showed the largest increase of 0.79 percent in Canada while the Drywall Material report had the largest monthly increase of 1.57 percent in the United States.

Construction costs continue to increase as supply and demand, distribution, inflation, etc. continue to have an impact. It also continues to be a tight labor market and companies are competing to hire and keep quality employees.

All reported percent changes are based on the averages that have been reported either since the April 2022 price list publication or from May 2021 to May 2022. The information reported here is based on a national average, and it is important to note that actual changes will vary within each pricing market. It is also important to remember that Verisk’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.

Lumber Trend

Since May 2021, lumber prices have shown an increase of 10.80 percent in the United States and 9.88 percent in Canada, though over the last month lumber prices have shown a decline, with a decrease of 2.60 percent in the United States and a 0.66 percent decrease in Canada. Sheathing materials have followed a similar trend, showing an increase of 7.23 percent in the United States and 6.90 percent in Canada since May 2021.

As supply and demand for common lumber materials continues to change, Verisk will monitor these changes and make warranted adjustments from focused surveys with suppliers for each monthly price list publication. Lumber continues to be volatile with a trend in rising interest rates for home mortgages. Since December 2021, rates for a 30-year fixed mortgage have sharply increased by 2.05 percentage points in the United States, increasing from 3.05 to 5.10 percent. Verisk will continue to monitor how this may impact the amount of new construction and remodeling projects that are in process.

Local market conditions

Verisk 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 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 April 2022 publication, gasoline prices decreased 2.93 percent in the United States and increased 0.56 percent in Canada. When compared to May 2021, gasoline prices have increased 43.00 percent in the United States and 36.20 percent in Canada. Here is an article on what may happen in the future with gas prices: Gas Price Prediction: How Much Will Gas Cost in 2022?

Because gasoline prices can change rapidly, Verisk 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

Top 200 Items Trend

Since the April 2022 price list publication the Top 200 Items by Total Spend showed an increase of 0.23 percent for Canada and an increase of 11.14 percent since May 2021. The United States showed a 0.38 percent increase since the April 2022 publication and an increase of 13.93 percent since May 2021.

The Top 200 Items by Use showed a 0.37 percent increase since the April 2022 publication for Canada and an increase of 8.78 percent since May 2021. The United States showed a 0.40 percent increase since the April 2022 publication and an 11.32 percent increase since May 2021.

The Top Items by Use represents the items that were the most used in claims coming through our system and the Top Items by Spend represents the items that had the highest total spend.

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 have added Hoka Shoes, Ashley HomeStore, and Pro Hockey Life as new vendors in Canada.

U.S.

Canada

Changes to the May price list

We added new items to the May price lists under the following categories:

• FEE (Permits & Fees) – Bid items added for 3D geospatial scanning and digitally derived third-party sketching.

Customers can view price list modifications on the eService Center. XactAnalysis customers can see this same report by selecting the Price List Changes report in the Industry Trend Reports.

Pricing feedback

Pricing feedback is one of the ways Verisk ensures that the reported cost information reflects actual market prices. Users writing estimates outside program work can return feedback by regularly running the feedback utility within Xactimate, XactRemodel, or XactPRM. Visit our web page for more information about submitting pricing feedback or check out our Xpert Tip on how to submit feedback in Xactimate.

More information

Verisk’s pricing database is the foundation for many of our products. You can download a price list in Xactimate and XactRemodel, or assign a price list in XactPRM.

For more information about managing price lists, click Help in any Verisk product.