In Latvia, construction costs in May this year, compared to May 2019, have increased by 1.4%, according to the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB).
Workers’ wages increased by 7.4%, maintenance and operation costs of machinery and equipment – by 0.5%, while construction material prices decreased by 0.8%.
In May 2020, compared to April, the level of construction costs in Latvia increased by 0.1%. Workers’ wages increased by 1.4%, but maintenance and operation costs of machinery and equipment – by 0.1%, while prices for construction materials decreased by 0.5%.
In May, the average level of construction costs was mostly influenced by the increase in wages and salaries of road construction and artificial construction auxiliary workers.
The decrease in the prices of asphalt concrete and dolomite crushed stone had a depressing effect.
In 2020, data on construction resource prices are provided by about 200 construction companies and more than 50 trade companies. The construction cost index is also calculated using the prices of construction materials provided by enterprises for the calculation of the producer price index in industry and the import price index. In addition, the registered consumer prices for construction materials are used in the calculations.
The sample of the price survey includes construction companies that in 2019 had the largest amount of construction work performed on their own. 90% of the surveyed companies performed their own work in excess of 1 million. euros per year, of which 36% of companies’ work volume was over 5 mln. euros per year. The selection criteria for trading companies are their turnover and specialization.
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