Construction companies are struggling to cope with rising commodity prices. They fear that they will no longer be able to work.
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The Confederation of crafts and small building companies (CAPEB) asks “to cap energy prices”. Its president Jean-Christophe Repon warns, Saturday September 10 on franceinfo, that the sector “will not be able to continue to work like this”. The energy ministers of the European Union met on Friday, September 9, for an extraordinary summit to find solutions to curb soaring energy prices.
franceinfo: Is it urgent for the building sector to reduce the energy bill?
Jean-Christophe Repon, president of CAPEB: It’s urgent. I remember writing to Bruno Le Maire in 2020 about the start of the crisis, the rise in prices with the Covid. In the second half of 2022, we see that there is a 26% increase on the price of materials. For more than two years, the price increase has not stopped continuing and therefore we have quotes which are also increasing. For the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, we wonder if customers will have the capacity to undertake energy renovations.
What is the increase in the cost of building a house compared to last year?
It’s hard to quantify but at CAPEB, with the studies we’ve done, we’re estimating a 10% to 30% increase in our quotes so that craftsmen can continue to be well established. We have to be able to impact our margins and our cost prices on this increase. We will ask Bruno Le Maire during the building meeting which will take place on September 22 to take charge of the sector because we will not be able to continue working like this. Otherwise the individual will no longer order.
Are all materials affected by the price increase ?
Absolutely. There have been cycles for more than two years. It started with steel, then wood, now we have tiles, bricks. These cycles are incomprehensible to us and that is why we are asking for price transparency, a parliamentary mission on what goes into the price and which impacts the increase. Energy, decarbonization or the Ukrainian crisis? We want to understand. We are asking for energy prices to be capped. When you take 100, 200 or 300%, it is impossible to be able to continue working.