Year-on-Year

The annual rate of Construction Materials Wholesale Price Index (CMWPI) in the National Capital Region (NCR) slowly picks up during the month

The annual increase of the CMWPI in NCR eased to 4.4 percent in January 2019. Its annual rate in December 2018 was posted at 5.7 percent and in January 2018, 3.4 percent. Compared with their annual rates in December 2018, slower annual increases were registered in the indices of the following commodity groups:

• Concrete products and cement, 6.0%;
• Hardware, 2.5%;
• G.I. sheet, 0.7%;
• Reinforcing and structural steel, 3.4%;
• Tileworks, 2.0%;
• Doors, jambs, and steel casement, 2.9%;
• Electrical works, 9.2%;
• Painting works, 0.3%; and
• Fuels and lubricants, 2.9%.

On the other hand, higher annual mark-ups were noted in the indices of the following commodity groups during the month:

• Sand and gravel, 8.8%;
• Plywood, 2.9%;
• Lumber, 9.7%; and
• Plumbing fixtures and accessories/waterworks, 3.6%.

The rest of the commodity groups retained their previous month’s annual rates (see Table 2).

Month-on-Month

CMWPI in NCR drops during the period

Measured from a month ago level, the CMWPI in NCR decreased by 0.1 percent in January 2019. In December 2018, its rate was noted at 0.2 percent. Declines were registered in the indices of the following commodity groups:

• Concrete products and cement, 0.04%;
• Hardware, 1.6%;
• Reinforcing and structural steel, 0.9%;
• Tileworks, 0.03%;
• Doors, jambs, and steel casement, 0.5%;
• Painting works, 0.4%;
• PVC pipes, 0.1%; and
• Fuels and lubricants, 4.0%.

A slower monthly increase of 0.8 percent was also posted in the index of sand and gravel. Meanwhile, the index of electrical works was higher by 0.5 percent. Moreover, the index of plywood inched up by 1.0 percent from a decline of 0.4 percent in the previous month. From zero growth in the previous month, the indices of lumber went up by 1.3 percent; G.I. sheet, 0.4 percent; and plumbing fixtures and accessories/waterworks, 2.3 percent. The rest of the commodity groups had zero growth during the period (see Table 3).

Lower prices were observed in selected hardware products, steel bars, flat bar, door jamb, PVC door, paints, and bunker fuel oil. On the other hand, prices of sand, gravel, plywood, lumber, G.I. sheet, selected electrical products, and some plumbing fixtures and accessories/waterworks went up during the month.