Conditions Today
This spring, 2021, is a time where we are seeing shortages and costs rising like they have not in a long time. Materials are going up almost daily it seems, deliveries are being extended and labor is hard to find.
We are seeing this and hearing reports of these matters all over the country (USA). Rising prices remind me of the 1970's. Deliveries are stretched as well.
A place where one might not think to look for schedule impacts are building permit offices. The high level of activity in construction means that building permit approvals are slowing down drastically. This, of course, is affecting schedules for without permits, projects cannot proceed no matter if all the materials are available and labor is standing there, tools in hand.
When will it all end? Take it from this old timer. It will end when the cost of capital catches up with the other inflationary factors. In the summer of 1981, a lifetime ago to you youngsters, everything came to a halt as the prime rate approached 20%. You couldn't give away a capital project at those rates.
For you less seasoned folks, interesting times are ahead, times I don't think you can even imagine when it comes to capital projects.
