Cost of building materials rising fast

CASPER (WNE) — Rapidly rising construction material costs are pushing up building costs in Wyoming.

Construction has been one of the industries most impacted by inflation in recent years as the cost of labor and critical aggregate materials like sand, gravel, crushed stone rising significantly since 2019 — underscoring the challenges ahead for housing strapped West while putting projects like Prism Logistics’ contested Casper gravel mine in new light.

A total of $35 billion worth of crushed stone and sand and gravel was produced in the U.S. last year, according to latest data from the U.S. Geological Survey and analysis by the construction supply company Twisted Nail.

These inputs are vital to applications like drainage, building foundations as well as the composite materials for asphalt and concrete.

In Wyoming, the prices for some materials are especially high, namely, the cost of crushed stone, which has risen by 46.2% since 2019, which is three times the national average price increase of 15% in the same period.

Though the cost of gravel and sand have risen less, bringing Wyoming’s overall price increase for the inputs at 22.3%, which is 16th highest of all states.

These costs are among the causes of the state’s housing affordability crisis, which has prompted lawmakers in Wyoming to consider new tax schemes and negotiations with the federal government to sponsor affordable housing on public lands.

The rising costs will also impact major federally-funded infrastructure projects on the horizon, including billions allocated for roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure country-wide as part of the Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, whose implementation may be slowed by the swell in materials costs.

This story was published on July 24, 2024.