Welcome to our eighth substack blog focused on construction costs. The history of the Engineering News Record (ENR) can be traced back to his 1874. This publication has its roots in his two separate publications, Engineer & Surveyor and The Plumber and Sanitary Engineer. The first issue of the Engineering News-Record was published on his April 5th, 1917. On January 1, 1987, the acronym ENR was adopted as the title of the magazine. The chart below uses data courtesy of his ENR magazine, which is published 26 times a year. Historical data were drawn from microfiche his copies of magazines obtained from the New York Public Library. ENR magazines are just a small part of what Engineer News Record has to offer. Readers, especially those interested in engineering and construction, are encouraged to visit his website at ENR for more information.
As the following chart shows, the continued high cost of construction aggregates and materials has hardly abated…
concrete sand
The 12-month rate of change has fallen from over 50% to 40.28%, but the parabolic move to news highs continues.
masonry sand
Masonry Sand costs have increased 30.19% over the last 12 months.
concrete ready mix
Ready Mix Concrete prices have come back slightly, but are still higher than they were 12 months ago, up 4.87%.
portland cement
After a temporary decline in the 20-city average price of Portland cement in the fourth quarter of last year, prices “have fallen again, up 19.47% over the past 12 months.
crushed stone
The price of 1 tonne of crushed stone has been on the rise since March 2001 and is now up 24.58% over the last 12 months.
asphalt pavement
The cutback 20 city average price of MC800 asphalt per tonne has started to slow, rising 4.72% since the beginning of last year.
Concrete block
After a temporary drop in lightweight concrete prices, they are rising again.
Data courtesy of Engineering News Record
Graphs courtesy of Optuma, Optuma’s graphing software allows anyone to visualize any data. To receive his 30-day trial version of Optuma charting software, please visit:
The Market’s Compass publishes select ENR construction data charts via The Market’s Compass Substack blog every 1-2 weeks as new data becomes available.