Archive for February, 2008
Material Trends
Prices are updated monthly by ENR’s price reporters who call a single source for each product in 20 U.S. cities and appear each week in ENR on a rotating cycle.
Common Labor Index
The Common Labor Index is the labor component of ENR’s Construction Cost Index and tracks the union wage, plus fringe benefits, for laborers.
Construction Cost Index
HOW ENR BUILDS THE INDEX: 200 hours of common labor at the 20-city average of common labor rates, plus 25 cwt of standard structural steel shapes at the mill price prior to 1996 and the fabricated 20-city price from 1996, plus 1.128 tons of portland cement at the 20-city price, plus 1,088 board-ft of 2 x 4 lumber at the 20-city price.
Material Price Index
The Materials Cost Index is the materials component of ENR’s building and construction cost indexes. It tracks the weighted price movement of structural steel, portland cement and 2 X 4 lumber.
Skilled Labor Index
The Skilled Labor Index is the labor component of ENR’s Building Cost Index and tracks union wages, plus fringe benefits, for carpenters, bricklayers and iron workers.
Building Cost Index
HOW ENR BUILDS THE INDEX: 68.38 hours of skilled labor at the 20-city average of bricklayers, carpenters and structural ironworkers rates, plus 25 cwt of standard structural steel shapes at the mill price prior to 1996 and the fabricated 20-city price from 1996, plus 1.128 tons of portland cement at the 20-city price, plus 1,088 board-ft of 2 x 4 lumber at the 20-city price.
