Sluggish Markets Dampen Construction Costs

Construction costs for new industrial buildings in April were up only 1.9% from a year ago, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This follows a 1.6% hike for the same month in 2015 and a 3.6% increase a year earlier. By comparison, ENR’s Construction Cost Index in May showed a 3.4% annual increase. The easing of inflation in the industrial sector is partly due to weaker demand. The U.S. Commerce Dept. reports that spending on new manufacturing construction in the first quarter of 2016 rose just 2.7% from 2015.