Commercial Product Bulletin

CoreLogic® monitors a wide variety of construction materials for the commercial and agricultural building industry. A few of this quarter’s highlights are:

• In Q1 2020, the average for U.S. building materials decreased by -0.2%.  For labor, the average wage rate increased by 0.8%, based on construction trade contracts that were renewed during the quarter.
• The average change for Canadian building materials increased by 0.8% over the quarter, for labor, the average wage rate increased by 0.7%, based on construction trade contracts that were renewed during the quarter.

CoreLogic® monitors a wide variety of construction materials. A snapshot of some of the most common material elements is listed below:

United States			Canada
	Quarter	Year	Quarter	Year
Aluminum Conduit	0.6%	2.8%	0.8%	6.1%
Asphalt Shingles	0.4%	3.3%	1.8%	5.8%
Concrete Block	1.0%	3.3%	0.7%	4.6%
Drywall	-0.5%	0.5%	0.3%	4.4%
Felt Paper	0.1%	-0.4%	1.3%	4.6%
Galvanized Pipe	0.5%	2.9%	1.6%	6.9%
Lumber	0.2%	-11.7%	-0.6%	-14.4%
Plywood	-2.1%	-15.4%	-1.3%	-10.2%
Ready Mix	0.7%	4.7%	0.0%	4.4%
Rebar	0.8%	0.8%	-0.6%	-4.4%
Steel Deck	0.4%	0.6%	1.7%	4.6%
Steel Stud	0.2%	1.3%	0.9%	4.8%
Structural Steel	-0.3%	-3.0%	0.5%	1.0%
1/2″ Copper Pipe	-0.4%	-2.0%	1.8%	5.6%

To ensure that our clients receive the most current building material and labor costs, the CoreLogic data team continuously researches hard costs such as labor, material and equipment , including mark-ups. Our research also covers soft cost such as taxes and fringes for reconstruction work performed for the insurance industry in the United States and Canada. We monitor demographics and econometric statistics, government indicators, and localization requirements, including market trends from nearly 3,000 unique economies in the United States, and over 100 in Canada.

• Other factors in this process include the following:
• Wage rates for more than 85 union and non-union trades
• Over 100,000 line items of construction data
• Productivity rates and crew sizes
• Local cost concerns, such as building code requirements and other localized variables

In addition, we validate cost data by analyzing field inspection records, contractor estimates, phone surveys and partial and full loss claim information. For more information, or for further explanation, please contact your sales consultant or account manager. NOTE: The cost information in this bulletin is only intended to give you a general sense of reconstruction cost trends in North America.  You should NOT advocate using these factors when adjusting renewal values for specific locations or across your book of business.  Please note that the building material and labor cost trends presented in this bulletin are broad averages derived from our research of construction trades and building materials.