The Philippine Statistics Agency (PSA) reported on Friday that the growth rate of wholesale prices of building materials in the National Capital Region (NCR) rose.
Metro Manila Metropolitan City Building Materials Wholesale Price Index (CMWPI) rose 0.3% year-on-year in April, up from 0.2% in March. However, this is below the 0.7% increase recorded in April 2024.
In the four months to April, Metro Manila's CMWPI averaged 0.2%, with growth slower than 1% over the same period.
The fastest recorded in April has been the fastest since its 0.5% increase in July 2024.
The growth that led to last month was faster growth in tile factories (1% compared to March), sand and gravel (0.3% 0.4%), electrical engineering (0.3% 0.4%) and painting works (1% 1%).
Year-on-year growth for other commodities remained unchanged compared to last month: plumbing fixtures and accessories/water plants (0.9%) and doors, jambs and jambs and Steel Casement (0.4%).
In another PSA report, the Building Materials Wholesale Price Index (CMWPI) fell to 1% in April, down from 1.2% growth in March. It also cooled from 1.2% in April 2024.
CMRPI has averaged 1.1% so far, with growth rates falling a little from January to April 2024.
April printing is the lowest in more than a year, or 0.6% since March 2024
CMRPI is based on the constant price in 2012, while CMWPI is based on the constant price in 2018.
PSA attributed the slower annual growth of the annual CMWPI to the price of woodworking, which slowed by 0.4% from 0.7% in March, while the canned debris material was 1.5% from 1.6%.
The commodity groups with stable interest rates are painting materials and related compounds (2.4%), pipeline materials (0.7%) and other building materials (0.3%).
Reyes Tacandong & Co. Senior consultant Jonathan L. Ravelas said modest construction growth could be affected by a variety of factors such as election bans and tariff risks.
“The ban on public works during the election may lead to delays in construction projects and procurement of materials. The restrictions are designed to prevent abuse of public funds for elections and often lead to a temporary slowdown in construction activities. This may affect the demand for building materials, resulting in modest growth,” Mr Ravelas said in a Viber message.
Mr. Ravelas added that tariffs on imported building materials could increase costs and disrupt supply chains.
“These tariffs create uncertainty in the market as companies may face higher fees and delays in delivery of materials, which affects the overall project schedule and budget,” he said. Lourdes O. Pilar
