How supply chains are affecting construction material prices and how to protect your bottom line

TL;DR

Material prices are volatile due to global disruptions like the pandemic, shipping delays, supply chain failures, and geopolitical conflict. While you can’t control these events, you can protect your construction business by updating estimating practices, shortening quote validity, diversifying suppliers, improving productivity, increasing markup, and using intelligent tools like Bolster to automate pricing and streamline operations.

The Chaotic Reality of Today’s Construction Market

Calling the past few years “tumultuous” doesn’t begin to describe it. Businesses around the world are still dealing with enormous challenges, and construction has felt the impact more than most. Even with powerful estimating software on your side, you’ve probably noticed dramatic swings in material pricing. To survive and stay profitable, it’s essential to understand what’s causing this volatility—and how your business can adapt.

Why Supply Chains Are Still Unreliable

Every construction material travels through a long, global supply chain before reaching your jobsite. Manufacturing centers, shipping lanes, trucking routes, ports, and distribution networks all need to function smoothly for pricing to remain stable. Recently, however, several major events have severely disrupted this system.

The Covid Pandemic

COVID-19 shut down factories, closed borders, and left shipping containers stranded. Demand increased while supply plummeted. Even now, the industry is still catching up, which means higher costs and continued unpredictability.

The Suez Canal Blockage

When the Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal, global shipping schedules were thrown into chaos. Rerouted vessels and congested ports caused delays that still affect material availability and pricing today.

The War in Ukraine

The conflict in Ukraine has impacted fuel prices, currency markets, and global economic stability. Transportation, manufacturing, and raw materials have all been affected—creating further price fluctuations.

Uncertainty in the global economy always trickles down to construction.

How to Protect Your Construction Business from Price Volatility

You can’t control global events, but you can build a business that weathers them with minimal financial damage.

Invest in Estimating Software That Auto-Updates Pricing

Manual price updates are slow and inefficient. Bolster automatically updates material pricing through real-time web crawling, saving hours and reducing costly errors.

Shorten Quote Validity Periods

The old 30-day validity standard is no longer realistic. Contractors today often use 7–10 day validity periods to avoid selling projects at outdated prices.

Stock Up on High-Use Consumables

You don’t need to warehouse everything, but buying non-perishable, frequently used items in bulk can save money and prevent delays.

Expand Your Supplier Network

Don’t rely on one or two suppliers. Build relationships with multiple vendors so you always have backup options when pricing spikes or inventory runs short.

Increase Your Markup

A modest increase in markup provides a financial cushion when prices rise unexpectedly. Competing on price is more dangerous than ever—protect your margins.

Improve Productivity

Increasing efficiency is one of the most reliable ways to offset rising costs. Field teams can use labor-saving tools, while office teams benefit from automation through software like Bolster.

Upsell Clients with Clear Upgrade Options

Upgrades increase revenue and help offset unexpected material costs. With Bolster’s interactive upgrade system, over 80% of customers choose at least one upgrade option.

Changing the Way Construction Business Happens

The construction industry has always been unpredictable. Our team at Bolster knows this firsthand from decades spent running construction companies before building the estimating platform we have today. Volatility is unavoidable, but inefficiency is not. With smarter systems, automated pricing, and more transparent estimating, contractors can stay resilient even in turbulent markets.

If you haven’t yet upgraded your estimating process, now is the time. Book a free Bolster demo to see how smarter software can help you build a stronger, more profitable, and more adaptable construction business.