One in four construction companies in Spain has had to stop or delay the execution of some of its works, as a result of the sharp increase in the price of raw materials needed for construction over the last year. According to a study by the National Construction Confederation (CNC), the increases have already raised the total cost of building work in Spain by 22.2%.
The report, which has included participation from more than 300 companies in the sector, adds that up to 24% of the companies that have had to cancel works have registered a financial penalty. Specifically, the cancellation or delay has caused them a financial hole of between 1,500 euros and 3,000 euros per calendar day, which is between 10% and 50% of the construction budget.
However, the CNC study clarifies that 76% of the companies that have had to stop or delay their works have been able to avoid financial penalties. In any case, almost all of the companies have noticed an increase in prices.
The lack of raw materials is caused by the shortage of products from China and the slow recovery after Covid-19, and they confirm that it has already increased the total cost of building work in Spain by 22.2%.
The companies claim to have suffered from this shortage of raw materials such as wood, steel, and aluminium, which affects products such as concrete, sanitary wares, glass, paint, flooring, taps, domestic appliances, windows, lifts, cement, and swimming pools, among others.
Delivery delays currently reach 90 days for machinery and vehicles and even 70 days for household appliances. As a result, more than half of the works have suffered delays in their execution, although just over half have not seen their deadlines altered.
The president of the CNC, Pedro Fernández Alén, has insisted on three proposals to mitigate this problem, "to repeal the de-indexation law in relation to public contracts, to establish a system of automatic price rebalancing in the face of cost overruns and to streamline the management of European funds".