The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Contractors Association president said that rising shipping costs will continue to drive construction materials prices higher this year by ten percent at least.

Leonard Sands, told Tribune Business: “You can say that shipping lines have indicated that container costs is projected to go up, which means that the price of things that come in the container is going to slightly rise, which means that it will have an effect on some building materials that come in containers.”

Mr Sands said that this is the information he is getting from his shipping contacts. “As president of the BCA I have indication that shipping costs are going to increase because of the war between Russia and the Ukraine and increased demand. So if you bring in a good then shipping costs are going to be tacked on to that.”

He added: “I think its hard to say by how much prices will increase by summertime, but I do not think it is going to increase by more than 10 percent.”

Rejecting projections made by shipping and logistics professionals earlier this week with them estimating that due to the war the cost for containers will double by the summer time, Mr Sands said: “I don’t see container costs rising to $6,000 for a 40ft container. The cost right now is $3,500 for a 40ft container and I don’t see it doubling by the summer time.”

Robert Plank, managing director for Kelly’s lumber yard, added that it is hard to estimate by how much building materials would increase by, because some with some materials like lumber there are several types, from treated pine to hardwoods and they are all having different fluctuations in pricing.

He added: “I will say the bigger issue is the limited supplies. If I had a crystal ball on how long this will last I would tell you. We thought this would have been over by this time this year and we were wrong.”

Noting the possibility of rising shipping costs adding to the problem of material availability, Mr Plan also said: “It would surprise me if we see shipping charges double. I could see a fuel surcharge because increased or added in the case where you don’t have it. But everything has gone up, inflation has impacted all aspects of our lives.

“But right now it is not about the price, it is about who has the product.”

Quentin Knowles, the Bahamas Society of Engineers president, also said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if building materials went up again. “As an electrical contractor we have to check pricing daily when we are bidding on projects. We cannot risk that our quotation that we got from a supplier a month ago is valid because it has been very volatile.

“But as for a specific price increase I haven’t heard anything generally, but there has been so many price increases over the past year it has been hard to keep up.”