CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS PRICES INCH DOWN IN NOVEMBER BUT CONTINUE TO OUTRUN YEAR-OVER-YEAR BUILDING PRICES, SQUEEZING STRAPPED CONTRACTORS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 15, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The amount contractors pay for a range of key construction materials edged down 0.1 percent in November but climbed 6.2 percent from a year earlier, outstripping the increase in contractors’ bid prices for finished buildings, according to an analysis of producer price index figures released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Officials with the construction association warned that the cost squeeze on contractors, combined with declining public sector investments in construction, may drive many contractors out of business.