Non-residential Building Construction Price Index Up 0.4% in Q2 2016

August 11, 2016 

The composite price index for non-residential building construction rose 0.4% in the second quarter compared with the previous quarter. This increase resulted from higher wages and material prices.

Contractors in five of the seven census metropolitan areas surveyed reported quarterly gains. The largest advance was observed in Toronto (+1.8%), followed by Vancouver (+1.5%). These increases were moderated by decreases in Calgary (-1.6%) and Edmonton (-1.5%).

Year over year, the composite price index for non-residential building construction rose 0.5%. The largest year-over-year increases were recorded in Vancouver (+3.4%) and Toronto (+3.1%). Edmonton (-4.2%) and Calgary (-3.8%) reported the only year-over-year declines.

The Non-residential Building Construction Price Index is a quarterly series that measures changes in contractors’ selling prices of new non-residential building construction in seven census metropolitan areas: Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario part), Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. Three classes of structures are covered: commercial, industrial and institutional.

Selling prices include costs of materials, labour and equipment, provincial sales taxes where applicable, and contractors’ overhead and profit. The costs of land, land assembly, design and development, as well as real estate fees, are excluded. Value added taxes such as the federal goods and services tax and the harmonized sales tax are excluded.

Table 1: Non-residential Building Construction Price Index1 — Not Seasonally Adjusted

Source: Statistics Canada, www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/160809/dq160809c-eng.htm.