Blog: Design & Estimating

Many electrical engineers faced with cost surges are turning to aluminum cable as a substitute for copper wire. Antonio D’Aulerio, Engineer at Gordian, discusses the trade-offs for copper versus aluminum wire and how to incorporate tools in RSMeans Data Online to make an informed decision about which construction material to use.

Our data experts have been monitoring steel costs for decades and track price fluctuations impacted by response to public policy, concerns about infrastructure or the effects of the pandemic and natural disasters. We examine the long-term cost trends of the industry’s most vital materials. In this edition of What the Data Says, we’re continuing our analysis into the rising steel prices, which is affecting many critical components for commercial construction that are made of this popular metal – structural components, steel rebar and metal deck.

Our data experts have been monitoring construction costs for decades, tracking price fluctuations impacted by response to public policy, concerns about infrastructure or the effects of the pandemic and natural disasters. We examine the long-term cost trends of the industry’s most vital materials. In this edition of What the Data Says, we examine the continued cost increases of interior finishes.

In this edition of What the Data Says, we’re taking a look at the extraordinary rise in structural steel costs. Over the past several months, we have become accustomed to volatility in this commodity’s pricing but the latest increase is unprecedented. The price of structural steel has increased 91% since the last quarter of 2020, rising 45% in the past quarter.

There’s a common notion in the industry that estimators can take last year’s price for a given material and add a couple percentage points to account for any increases. But there are two issues with this mindset - issues that are solved by quarterly construction material cost updates.