The latest price changes come as the construction sector faces a mix of high demand, thin margins and ongoing supply chain disruptions. Cement, a core ingredient in concrete, is heavily exposed to energy markets because it relies on fuel-intensive production and transport. When global conflicts disrupt key oil routes and drive up crude prices, those higher costs tend to ripple straight through to building sites from new homes to major infrastructure projects.
In this case, two of the country’s biggest cement producers are adding explicit surcharges to each cubic metre of cement rather than folding the increase quietly into standard pricing. One supplier has told customers it will add around $8.67 per cubic metre from this week, after saying it can no longer absorb the spikes in fuel and logistics costs linked to the conflict in the Middle East and the closure of a critical oil supply path. Industry observers note that, when multiplied across a typical house slab or commercial floor, these per metre increases easily add up to several hundred dollars or more.
For the broader economy, this looks like another incremental cost pressure hitting an industry already battling labour shortages, higher interest rates and persistent material price volatility. Higher cement and concrete costs could slow some projects, squeeze builders’ margins and feed into housing affordability challenges although the exact impact will depend on how long global energy markets stay unsettled and how much of the extra cost builders pass on to end buyers.
