Cost update: June 2003 | Features

Structural steelwork and carcassing timber
	Unit	North-west £	Midlands £	East Anglia £
Structural steel framing
Columns, not exceeding (ne) 40 kg/m	t	670	780	875
Columns, ne 40 kg/m, hollow sections	t	980	1050	1150
Columns, 40-100 kg/m	t	650	760	850
Columns, 40-100 kg/m, hollow sections	t	1100	1150	1200
Columns, exceeding 100 kg/m	t	630	725	800
Beams, ne 40 kg/m	t	720	830	900
Beams, ne 40 kg/m, hollow sections	t	1100	1150	1200
Beams, 40-100 kg/m	t	690	800	865
Beams, 40-100 kg/m, hollow sections	t	1100	1150	1200
Beams, exceeding 100 kg/m	t	660	770	770
Bracings, ne 40 kg/m	t	900	1100	1150
Fittings	t	800	875	1000
Permanent erection on site	t	170	175	220
Surface preparation/treatment – blast clean and zinc phosphate primer	m²	5.00	4.00	5.00
Carpentry/timber framing/first fixing
Wall or partition members, 50 × 50	m	2.10	2.25	2.50
Roof members
Flat, 150 × 50	m	3.75	4.00	4.25
Pitched, 150 × 50	m	3.50	3.65	4.60
Pitched, 225 × 75	m	8.50	8.60	9.60
Individual supports, 75 × 50	m	2.10	2.25	2.50
Vertical restraint strap, 30 × 2.5 × 900 long	nr	5.00	5.25	5.50

Price changes
	% change since April 2002
Insitu concrete	+ 5%
Formwork for insitu concrete	+ 3%
Reinforcement	+ 8%
Concrete blocks	+ 4%
Structural steelwork	+ 5%
First-fix carpentry items (roof members etc)	+ 4%
Roofing slates	+ 6%
Stainless steel sheet roof coverings	+ 2%
Plasterboard partitions and linings	+ 5%
Hardwood wood strip flooring	+ 6%
Standard timber flush doors	+ 5%
Standard timber window frames	+ 5%
Ironmongery	+ 3.5%
Changing cubicles	+ 5%
Sanitary appliances	+ 2%
Glazing (generally)	+ 4%
Plaster/render	+ 4%
Vinyl sheeting/tiling	+ 3%
Copper pipes and fittings	+ 6%
Paint	+ 3%
Insulation	+ 5%
Bitumen macadam surfacing	+ 2%
Fencing	+ 4%

Key indicators
	% change April 2002 – April 2003
Retail Prices Index
Headline rate (RPI)	+3.1
All items excluding mortgage interest payments (RPIX) – government’s target index	+3.0
All items excluding mortgage interest payments and indirect taxes (RPIY)	+2.9
Harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP)	+1.5
Industry generally
Materials and fuels purchased by manufacturing industry	+0.1
of which materials	+0.4
fuel	–1.5
Materials and fuels purchased by manufacturing industry excluding food, beverages, tobacco and petroleum industries	+2.5
Output prices of manufactured products	+1.7
Output prices of manufactured products excluding food, beverages, tobacco and petroleum	+0.0
Construction industry
Construction materials	+2.5
Housebuilding materials	+1.7
Machinery and equipment (UK manufacture)	+0.2
Electrical machinery and apparatus (UK manufacture)	–0.3
Source: Office for National Statistics (March/April 2003 figures provisional)
Notes: The ONS category of “machinery and equipment” includes mechanical engineering items such as pumps, taps, valves, lifts, cooling and ventilation equipment. “Electrical machinery and apparatus” includes electrical engineering materials such as electricity distribution and control apparatus, wires and cables and lighting equipment.

Wage agreement summary for major wage-fixing bodies
Operatives	Agreement body	Wage rates effective since	Date of next review
Builders and civil engineering operatives	Construction Industry Joint Council	24 June 2002	30 June 2003
	Building & Allied Trades Joint Industrial Council (BATJIC)	10 June 2002	9 June 2003
Plumbers	The Joint Industry Board for Plumbing Mechanical Engineering Services in England and Wales	2 December 2002	Likely to be September 2003
	Scottish and Northern Ireland Joint Industry Board for the Plumbing Industry	7 April 2003	Likely to be September 2003
Heating and ventilation operatives	Joint Conciliation Committee of the Heating, Ventilating and Domestic Engineering Industry	7 October 2002	Likely to be October 2003
Electricians	The Joint Industry Board for the Electrical Contracting Industry	6 January 2003	5 January 2004 (third-part of three-year agreement)
	Scottish Joint Industry Board for the Electrical Contracting Industry	6 January 2003	5 January 2004 (third-part of three-year agreement)