BCIS Tender Price Index

Article Type: Newsbriefs From: Structural Survey, Volume 27, Issue 1

Keywords: Construction, Economy, Tender prices

Construction contractors are not passing on the full impact of the rising costs of materials and wages, amid fears of a credit crunch backlash from clients unable to secure finance for new orders, according to the latest Tender Price Index compiled by RICS Building Cost Information Service (BCIS). The price of new construction work in Q1 2008 fell by 2.4 percent compared with the previous quarter while costs rose by 1.1 percent in the same period. Overall workload demand for the year to Q1 remained on trend, despite drops in public (−6 percent) and private (−10 percent) housing workloads, on the back of an increase in the amount of infrastructure, public non housing and commercial work being undertaken. However a fall in new work output is expected for 2008, with output remaining unchanged in 2009, but increasing at around its long term trend rate in 2010.