Building materials increasingly expensive: ‘I no longer dare to agree on a price’

The price increase is caused by an accumulation of factors. Due to corona, there was already a high demand for construction products that manufacturers hardly need could keep up, resulting in higher prices. Add to this the war in Ukraine.

A lot raw materials for building materials, such as steel, clay and aluminum. come from Russia and Ukraine, so their supply is now disrupted. The war also leads to higher energy prices. The consequences are serious, because the production of building materials often requires a lot of gas.

Tiles also much more expensive

Steel and aluminum producers use a lot of energy and to make tiles for bathrooms and kitchens, for example, the gas ovens have to be heated to temperatures above 1000 degrees. What makes the tile market even more uncertain is that Ukraine is an important supplier of clay. As a result, production in some tile factories is failing.

Tile buyers also notice that prices continue to rise. “There is not a single factory that does not implement a price increase and there are even some that talk about price increases of 30 to 40 percent,” says Rex Broekman of ICA Group. “That is unprecedented for consumers.”

ICA Group has therefore opened a second warehouse, so that large stocks can be kept. This way they can continue to carry out their long-term projects, which require a lot of tiles. “Nevertheless, in some cases it will be necessary to move to another factory, or to reconsider the contract,” says Broekman. Bouwend Nederland is now advising its members not to make fixed price agreements anymore, because it is no longer possible to keep up with the rising prices.

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