40 replies to this topic

[Stadtplan]

It will be interesting to see how construction material escalation impacts pending projects this year. Steel, lumber, PVC, Copper, Lithium among others have gone way up. The problem is that work priced a few months ago is more expensive today.  If the Owner is still trying to secure financing or make a go/no-go decision this could be a problem. The only thing going for Owners right now is possible lower fees due to contractors needing to secure more work.

Even in residential, a friend of a friend who builds homes said the lumber packages are up an additional $30,000 this year compared to a year ago.

 

There's a few important contributing factors to take into consideration right now:

1) Lingering impacts of COVID on mining and production of raw materials is still having a downflow impact on supply.

2) Natural disasters (hurricanes and the big freeze) have depleted available retail supplies cross-affecting wholesale distribution and manufacturing trying to keep up.

3) Big name companies like Tesla, Apple and Google are fighting for supply of copper and lithium.

 

It's going to be interesting to see how the retail pricing on new phones, cars and trucks will shift higher and higher as these precious commodities get more and more expensive.  

 

https://www.copper.o...s-Factsheet.pdf

 

 

While conventional cars have 18-49 pounds of copper, hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) contain approximately 85 pounds, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) use 132 pounds, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) contain 183 pounds, a hybrid electric bus contains 196 pounds, and a battery electric bus contains 814 pounds, most of which is used in the battery.

[cjyoung]

We've seen a $30,000 increase in the base price of the home model that we're building. Glad we locked in two weeks prior.

[Stadtplan]

We've seen a $30,000 increase in the base price of the home model that we're building. Glad we locked in two weeks prior.

So you locked in at $30k higher than previously estimated? I know with insurance claims the contractor can go back for price increases on material if the claim was filed before all this craziness.

[JBB]

Anything that experienced manufacturing shortages during the pandemic is seeing price increases.  I went to the gun range yesterday to blow off some steam and a 50 round box of 9mm ammo that went for $20 in early 2020 is up to $35.

[arch-image]

The two biggest impacts I have seen in commercial construction is lumber and steel that is run from coil, drywall studs and cold form  framing (same thing as drywall studs just much heavier gauge). Not seeing much on Copper or pipe materials and such. That said if Oil continues its climb anything petrol related, PVC, Roofing, Shingles, etc.. will be impacted. I track these through various futures markets and manufacturing sites as my main roll is costing ands negotiating our contracts. 

 

Lumber and coil steel are mainly being affected because when covid hit all the mills shut down. Now they are slowly re-opening but have sold off all inventory and it will take while to get cranked back up. That said many are saying lumber will level back down in the the next 3-4 months, while steel will begin coming down in more like 4-6 but the issues with tariffs and china will keep it a bit up in the air. Also impacting steel is getting the raw materials off the boats as there is 6 months worth of them floating off the coast waiting on space to come to dock. I had a load of marble and granite just make it to shore after setting for 2 months off the coast. 

 

One no one has been talking about also is shortage of cement, During the snow storm many plants went offline that were powered by Gas and had a lot of damage caused by the power failures. Industry was starting buy from Mexico to make up the shortages and now 500 plants in northern Mexica have shut down due to Gas shortages. As our suppliers told us last week as we were ordering some small batches for sidewalks and patios, we can get 10 yards type loads and one offs but if we were trying to pour foundations or parking lots we would be screwed. 

 

Going to be a long and painful thru next fall. 

[Stadtplan]

Very true.  Will be interesting to see what other project owners do this year.  Seems like everyone in construction is ready to get going as soon as possible perhaps Q3-2021 will pick-up a little.

[arch-image]

I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. Have one project that were reworking numbers on to get started in May, and most importantly lenders are starting to look at deals again, we submitted for funding on a big project in plano Tuesday, fingers crossed, and had sent an email out to equity/finance guys on another mixed use development and was pleasantly surprised to get a couple calls back. I think the two biggest hits are going to be small retail strips and buildings and restaurants, there is so much space available from companies that didn't make it I think it will take 18-24 months to absorb it. 

[Stadtplan]

Article: "Why copper and lithium could be 'the new oil'"

[Stadtplan]

May 2021: Associated General Contractors (AGC) issues an update to their Construction Inflation Alert.

 

https://www.agc.org/...n Alert_0_0.pdf

 

This problem isn't going away anytime soon and could be a real problem across the board for contractors and owners.  Depending on material escalation clauses in existing contracts, that probably has the most significant immediate impact on builders.  For owners, depending on when a project was bid vs awarded and how many days / months a contractors bid is stated as valid, they could see much much higher pricing coming through, to the point where their investors / funding lose interest or the project becomes impractical to continue with (for now).  I'd be willing to bet contractors are limiting their pricing to just a few weeks now, which means owners need to make a go / no-go decision more quickly or just not bid their projects knowing that if they wait until things calm down, they may pay way less for the same product or just not build at all if they don't really need more office space for example.

 

 

Given that materials often represent half or more of the cost of a contract, such an increase could easily wipe out the profit from a project and potentially put the contractor out of business.

 

 

 

 

 

"Steel prices have tripled. Now Bank of America is sounding the alarm"

 

https://www.cnn.com/...bble/index.html

[Austin55]

It's even hitting buffalo wings.

 

https://www.facebook...159380929518189

[Stadtplan]

It's even hitting buffalo wings.

 

https://www.facebook...159380929518189

I appreciate their transparency about the pricing situation and if diesel is going as high as the chart above indicates and what I saw last night at the pumps, then we're all going to have sticker shock.  I've never heard of this place but need to check it out.  I like their branding and marketing too.  I eat out considerably less than I did a year or two ago (which is hardly ever now) so I don't mind paying slightly more for food especially from a restaurant that is locally owned and operated and especially for something that I can't make at home like New York style pizza, smoked brisket etc.

 

Growing up, eating out at a restaurant was a special occasion usually when family or friends were in town visiting or vice versa, plus there were such limited options we had only 5 or 6 places within a 25 mile radius to choose from and half of them we couldn't go to because of my dad's food allergies (fish etc.).  Some of you old timers may remember supper clubs and this idea of serving "American" cuisine with chicken, steaks, chops, Friday night fish fry?  Some still exist in the Midwest but not as many.  These were not necessarily high-end places but served fairly good quality food.  The whole restaurant scene has changed so much.

[Doohickie]

Just so you know, Buffalo Bros makes Buffalo Style Pizza, not NY Style.  (It's different.)  But if you want to try it, Buffalo Bros charges half price for their pizza on Mondays (I go there every week.)

 

How is Buffalo pizza different?  This explains it:  Is America’s Pizza Capital Buffalo, New York?

 

Now, back to your construction material panic.
 

[Stadtplan]

Just so you know, Buffalo Bros makes Buffalo Style Pizza, not NY Style.  (It's different.)  But if you want to try it, Buffalo Bros charges half price for their pizza on Mondays (I go there every week.)
 
How is Buffalo pizza different?  This explains it:  Is Americas Pizza Capital Buffalo, New York?
 
Now, back to your construction material panic.
 

I am really going to need to try that pizza....that sounds like a great deal, hopefully they keep that around for a while.

[arch-image]

May 2021: Associated General Contractors (AGC) issues an update to their Construction Inflation Alert.

 

https://www.agc.org/...n Alert_0_0.pdf

 

This problem isn't going away anytime soon and could be a real problem across the board for contractors and owners.  Depending on material escalation clauses in existing contracts, that probably has the most significant immediate impact on builders.  For owners, depending on when a project was bid vs awarded and how many days / months a contractors bid is stated as valid, they could see much much higher pricing coming through, to the point where their investors / funding lose interest or the project becomes impractical to continue with (for now).  I'd be willing to bet contractors are limiting their pricing to just a few weeks now, which means owners need to make a go / no-go decision more quickly or just not bid their projects knowing that if they wait until things calm down, they may pay way less for the same product or just not build at all if they don't really need more office space for example.

 

 

Given that materials often represent half or more of the cost of a contract, such an increase could easily wipe out the profit from a project and potentially put the contractor out of business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Steel prices have tripled. Now Bank of America is sounding the alarm"

 

https://www.cnn.com/...bble/index.html

 

Great article .... Were Looking at some projects that were halted and seeing a little bit of prices coming back down, no where near what they were but a good sign. Lumber is finally trending down a bit, some of our trades that are more labor intensive vs material, sitework and such is actually lower than a year ago as people are beginning to fill backlog holes, but with oil up, anything related is headed up, roofing, pipe etc... copper is headed back up, and a lot of manufactured items, HVAC equipment, switchgear, lights, etc.. .are still rising. As well and almost a bigger issue is so much comes from overseas and shipping is a disaster right now. It's tough to make numbers work right now financially.  From a development perspective I think we have at least another year to go before things settle down. 

[Doohickie]

 

Just so you know, Buffalo Bros makes Buffalo Style Pizza, not NY Style.  (It's different.)  But if you want to try it, Buffalo Bros charges half price for their pizza on Mondays (I go there every week.)
 
How is Buffalo pizza different?  This explains it:  Is Americas Pizza Capital Buffalo, New York?
 
Now, back to your construction material panic.
 

I am really going to need to try that pizza....that sounds like a great deal, hopefully they keep that around for a while.

 

I've been getting their Monday pizza deal for years.

[Stadtplan]

Here is an update on construction material....

Sources indicate the construction industry in Texas will see supply and demand issues through the summer months, easing by August or September.

Unknown risks include severe weather events, especially if there is an impact on the power grid which we have suddenly outgrown. The manufacture of resin-based products could be impacted domestically. Ransom ware strikes also appear to be a big unknown as seen with fuel supply and meat supply followed by panic buying.

Steel is up 60-70%
Copper is up 50%
Lumber is heading back down but still higher than normal compared to two years ago.
Chip manufacturing is affecting many electronic components including programmable breakers, lighting systems, automobiles.

There is a shortage on larger quantities of HVAC supplies especially ductwork and most copper/aluminum components for fins, coils, condensers and heat exchangers. Smaller repair items like capacitors, motors appear to be available on demand, for now.

Transportation costs are up 50% over the past 10 months and impacting everything.

Even with cost escalation, the issue on long lead construction items is more about lack of supply. It doesnt matter how expensive something is if you can not source it. Major commercial and industrial projects would likely have longer than normal lead times on HVAC, switchgear, and specialty lightning products.

On a side note, if you do not own a small generator, it would probably be a good idea to get one now.

[Stadtplan]

From S-T article about impact of labor shortages and material escalation on home building.
 
I'm assuming their contract must have material escalation and delay clauses.  If that is the case, I guess giving people "an out" is certainly better than sticking it to them legally, but this still seems shady especially if they can turn around and sell the same property for a lot more.  Did give them first right of refusal but at that point is it even worth it?
 
(Interesting last name: Hoodwin(k) )
 

[Doohickie]

Lumber is heading back down but still higher than normal compared to two years ago.

For large projects maybe the price is moving but when I went to Lowes the other day dimensional lumber was still more than 2X what I remember it being.

[Stadtplan]

 

Lumber is heading back down but still higher than normal compared to two years ago.

For large projects maybe the price is moving but when I went to Lowes the other day dimensional lumber was still more than 2X what I remember it being.

 

 

True. I saw an interview yesterday on the evening news and one industry expert said lumber could go back up again at a moment's notice based on demand.  I have a feeling demand is not going to let up through summer, especially with home builders trying to make up lost time as well as hurricane season upon us.  I think supply is finally catching up a bit but stores are slow to re-adjust prices down until they know for sure what their inventory looks like in the coming weeks.  

 

A buddy is building a new house out in Royce City and he said his original lumber package started at $45K, then jumped to $60K and now it is double at over $90K on a 2500 SQFT home.  I believe they exceeded their construction loan and had to dip into savings for the balance.  Hopefully the equity on his current place is tracking somewhat proportionally to help offset those increases when he goes to sell, but I have a feeling everything else will just be that much higher. 

 

I had a furniture store tell me last night that their lead time is 5 months on a recliner, with mid to late November delivery.  I asked if they were made in China and at first the sales person made it sound like these are American jobs making American furniture with American-sourced materials.  Then he shifted his story and went on and on about how actually most of their wood and fabric materials are sourced from Vietnam and assembled in Mississippi but it's all California's fault for not opening the ports.  I called BS on the whole act and we flipped the chair over and every one of them said "Made in China" on the label.  They come in a cardboard box from China.

[elpingüino]

Dallas Morning News writes that as materials costs soar, some buyers are seeing their new home purchase contracts canceled. Most new home purchase contracts include clauses that protect a homebuilder from losing money on the deal if construction costs spiral, so if builders find that the profit on a planned house has evaporated because of construction delays, they may go back to the buyers for more money or just cancel the contract and return the deposit.


Contract cancellations roil D-FW new home buyers

[arch-image]

 

 

Lumber is heading back down but still higher than normal compared to two years ago.

For large projects maybe the price is moving but when I went to Lowes the other day dimensional lumber was still more than 2X what I remember it being.

 

 

True. I saw an interview yesterday on the evening news and one industry expert said lumber could go back up again at a moment's notice based on demand.  I have a feeling demand is not going to let up through summer, especially with home builders trying to make up lost time as well as hurricane season upon us.  I think supply is finally catching up a bit but stores are slow to re-adjust prices down until they know for sure what their inventory looks like in the coming weeks.  

 

A buddy is building a new house out in Royce City and he said his original lumber package started at $45K, then jumped to $60K and now it is double at over $90K on a 2500 SQFT home.  I believe they exceeded their construction loan and had to dip into savings for the balance.  Hopefully the equity on his current place is tracking somewhat proportionally to help offset those increases when he goes to sell, but I have a feeling everything else will just be that much higher. 

 

I had a furniture store tell me last night that their lead time is 5 months on a recliner, with mid to late November delivery.  I asked if they were made in China and at first the sales person made it sound like these are American jobs making American furniture with American-sourced materials.  Then he shifted his story and went on and on about how actually most of their wood and fabric materials are sourced from Vietnam and assembled in Mississippi but it's all California's fault for not opening the ports.  I called BS on the whole act and we flipped the chair over and every one of them said "Made in China" on the label.  They come in a cardboard box from China.

 

As with pricing, which I am not seeing coming down in any magnitude that is going to move projects off center, you have hit on another issue that is killing things. On one of the hotels I am doing right now, were going to run at least 2 months over schedule because the owners cannot get their materials which I have to hook up and connect as well as were responsible for setting up all the furniture. Should have had everything in April and MAYBE have 50% of what's needed. In 45 years of being on Construction I have never seen it this bad. Always ups and downs but nothing like what were seeing in todays markets. 

[JBB]

My brother works in multi-family construction and his complaint is that he can't get labor and materials to line up.  When he gets one worked out, he has trouble with the other.

[Stadtplan]

 

 

 

Lumber is heading back down but still higher than normal compared to two years ago.

For large projects maybe the price is moving but when I went to Lowes the other day dimensional lumber was still more than 2X what I remember it being.

 

 

True. I saw an interview yesterday on the evening news and one industry expert said lumber could go back up again at a moment's notice based on demand.  I have a feeling demand is not going to let up through summer, especially with home builders trying to make up lost time as well as hurricane season upon us.  I think supply is finally catching up a bit but stores are slow to re-adjust prices down until they know for sure what their inventory looks like in the coming weeks.  

 

A buddy is building a new house out in Royce City and he said his original lumber package started at $45K, then jumped to $60K and now it is double at over $90K on a 2500 SQFT home.  I believe they exceeded their construction loan and had to dip into savings for the balance.  Hopefully the equity on his current place is tracking somewhat proportionally to help offset those increases when he goes to sell, but I have a feeling everything else will just be that much higher. 

 

I had a furniture store tell me last night that their lead time is 5 months on a recliner, with mid to late November delivery.  I asked if they were made in China and at first the sales person made it sound like these are American jobs making American furniture with American-sourced materials.  Then he shifted his story and went on and on about how actually most of their wood and fabric materials are sourced from Vietnam and assembled in Mississippi but it's all California's fault for not opening the ports.  I called BS on the whole act and we flipped the chair over and every one of them said "Made in China" on the label.  They come in a cardboard box from China.

 

As with pricing, which I am not seeing coming down in any magnitude that is going to move projects off center, you have hit on another issue that is killing things. On one of the hotels I am doing right now, were going to run at least 2 months over schedule because the owners cannot get their materials which I have to hook up and connect as well as were responsible for setting up all the furniture. Should have had everything in April and MAYBE have 50% of what's needed. In 45 years of being on Construction I have never seen it this bad. Always ups and downs but nothing like what were seeing in todays markets. 

 

A friend who has worked on the material distributor side of the business for many years told me, "material prices can go up and up all they want, but if there is no supply left, then there's nothing you can do other than try to find alternative manufacturers."  It seems like specialty lighting and high-end furniture are two major achilleas heals on a project preventing final completion, especially if those items were spec'd far in advance of the construction process.  Normal lead times on specialty / high-end lighting can be as long as 10-12 weeks but I can only imagine what that looks like now, especially if it is coming from Europe or elsewhere and built to-order.  Even if it is assembled in the U.S., how's the manufacturers doing on getting all the right raw materials?  Very interesting situation.

[arch-image]

Your correct Nixtope, specialty lighting and furniture is crazy trying to get right now but it is also MANY other things. Our electrician had to buy switch plate covers off amazon a couple of weeks ago. Yea, you can a hundred here and there at the box stores but when you need close to 2,000 that doesn't help. Pool equipment is not available, switchgear, nope, elevators are adding an extra couple of months, AC units, close to 3 months add for big units or AAON units, our carpet was moved to another job thats also behind and now were waiting .... totally insane, I think retirement is on my horizon, I have always loved what I do but definitely not having fun anymore! 

[Stadtplan]

I heard a news report that lumber tripled in the last 4-months due to Canadian tariffs and a busy wildfire season.

Average adder for new homes is $18,000

[Stadtplan]

A buddy of mine is finishing building a home in Rockwall Cty. For a 2,700 SQFT home, the original cost of the lumber package before everything jumped up in cost was estimated at $40,000. With escalation factored in, they budgeted $64,000 and with the latest increases, the final cost of the lumber package came out to $98,000.

[Big Frog II]

Probably the reason existing homes have gone up so much is the price of new home construction is out of sight.

[Stadtplan]

He had to come up the extra $40K out of pocket.  Said it doesn't roll back into the construction loan in this case.  The bank did a cost evaluation / appraisal based on the drawings before construction started which had to have been early 2021 in order to secure the construction loan.  Thankfully, he owned the land which was several acres so that was his original collateral and the deal and he had previously sold another property with plenty of equity to put down on the construction loan but I've heard of horror stories where the builder comes back with a lumber adder and has other buyers lined up if the original owner can't or won't come up with the additional funds...essentially canceling their contract.  He's using a custom home builder since he already owns the land so maybe the cards are stacked a little more in his favor contractually, but he said the slab took two months to get someone out and pour it and the house should have been done back in August, with another 4-6 weeks left on finish out.

 

Someone I know that works in real estate pointed out something that hadn't even crossed my mind.  Basically, all these folks that are submitting offers over asking price, she said that the money over the appraised value comes straight out of the buyer's pocket in addition to a down payment.  So even if they offer $80-$100K over ask, they produce those funds at closing.  With a lot of out of state buyers, you also now have the multiple cash offers as well the old "quick close."  If you're a seller and aren't really on a tight timeline, what's the incentive of taking a lower offer if it is all cash?  I would tend to take the higher offer as long as the buyer is prequalified for financing and can come up with the extra money if they are offering over ask.

[Doohickie]

what's the incentive of taking a lower offer if it is all cash?  I would tend to take the higher offer as long as the buyer is prequalified for financing and can come up with the extra money if they are offering over ask.

 

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.  If someone is prequalified but that qualification means they are depending on a loan from a lender, and they need a high appraisal to get the loan, the sale could fall through.  There are several other conditions like that which could pop up.  Also, some people need to get the money out of the house they're selling before they can move on to whatever they're going to (whether it's buying another house or moving out of the area or whatever).

 

When we moved back here from Michigan and we sold our home up there, we had two offers and took the lower one because that buyer had a much better financial situation.  We did use the leverage of having had another offer to talk him up somewhat.  The most important thing at that point (for us) was to get a clean sale.

[JBB]

Isn't closing usually cheaper and can happen much faster when cash is in play?

[Stadtplan]

Its interesting lumber futures are dropping quickly now with interest rate hikes and other supply and demand changes. Historically over the past 20-25 years, lumber futures have been between $250 and $500 / 1000 board feet on average and we are already back down to $620.

https://tradingecono...ommodity/lumber

[Stadtplan]

I'm wondering if high fertilizer prices due to shortages will impact global food prices this fall?  If farmers are using less fertilizer they may have lower yields or if they are paying more for the same amount of fertilizer, then their operating costs go up and are passed on to the consumer.
 
https://www.reuters....ply-2022-03-23/

[JBB]

An off shoot of the materials shortage/price escalations: bulk ice is hard to get right now because concrete companies are buying it to and using it to keep concrete from setting in the trucks in the higher than normal temperatures.  That may be something that normally happens at this time of year, but I did hear something about earlier this week.

[Stadtplan]

I wonder how many ready mix plants have their own ice machines to keep up with that demand in the summer if they're adding a lot of shaved ice to the trucks?  I've seen concrete guys also use finishing aid and evaporation retarder to reduce surface-moisture evaporation on hot and windy days.  It allows them enough time to strike off, bull float and hop on and finish without the concrete getting away from them by setting up too fast.  Can be tough if they are needing to do a decorative stamp on big area, it starts off easy but they really gotta pound on the stamps near the end to get an even imprint.

 

https://www.concrete...tion-retarders/

 

Day1: https://concretesupp...-finishing-aid/

 

Confilm: https://www.lehighha...vrsn=2f8ac8d7_2

[Stadtplan]

My neighbors electricity bill more than doubled this month. I asked if his contract expired and he was going to check. Mine doesnt expire until next spring but I was shocked at what new contracts are priced at today when I looked online. At least 2 times almost 2.5 times higher than what I am currently paying. I truly feel bad for some families scraping by then to be hit with this bad news. I do grocery shopping for an elderly relative and it is painful esp in the rural area where she lives to see what stores are charging. I honestly find better deals in town but is too much work to coordinate transporting perishable groceries an hour in this heat.

https://www.texastri...gas-export/amp/

[John T Roberts]

My contract is up in the Spring, as well.  I'm sort of faced with a dilemma, in that I know I'm going to be paying more, but I got my current cheap rate on a 5 year contract.  I don't want to lock in for 5 years at a high rate with the possibility of them going down in the long range.  On the other hand, this high rate for 5 years might be the best deal I could get and if rates keep going up, renewal in a year might cost me more.

[Stadtplan]

For the past several contracts, I used Texas Power Guide's RateGrinder-ver-___________.xlsx worksheet to find the best plan for my consumption.  It is a $10 donation to the fellow that gathers and publishes this data but well worth it in my opinion and has saved me a lot of money and much more robust that the PowertoChoose site.  He finds plans that aren't even offered on PowertoChoose and a lot of times at much better rates when you run the numbers in his worksheet.  I've been keeping pretty close tabs on my usage for the past few years so it's easy to figure out where I'm at in the calculations.

 

https://www.texaspowerguide.com/

 

As far as the long contract vs short contracts, I had that same thought, John.  I guess in my mind, I compare it to how gas prices fluctuate and trying and try to time the market a bit.  I tend to not fill a full tank of gas if I know prices are dropping rapidly vs I fill up and top it when I see prices starting to go up.  I would hope that electricity rates normalize by next year before my contract is up and if they don't, I would probably sign up for a 12-month plan and see what the next spring brings.  I think signing up in the middle of summer or middle of winter is the wrong time just based on supply and demand.  If rates continue to increase beyond what we're seeing today, a lot of people will be in a very tough position.  I've heard people already talking about electricity bills that are $600-800 where they may have been $200-300 normally.  Another thing to factor in if you do sign-up for a longer contract 24+ months is looking at the contract cancellation fee as a way out.  Some wholesalers will pick-up that fee when you switch or depending on how the market swings, it might possibly make sense to pay the fee out-of-pocket to get out of one deal and into something cheaper.

[txbornviking]

when shopping or renewing electricity providers, don't forget to check out https://www.powertochoose.org/en-us


I need to double check when my current contract is up, but it seems similar plans ot what I'm on now are priced about 25% higher than my current contract and require a 24-36mo commitment...
 

[Stadtplan]

This is an interesting graphic I pulled this morning from a youtuber, looking at futures contracts.  Interesting to note the one month change on these commodities.  Lumber and Copper still coming down is certainly good for new construction projects:

 

[arch-image]

I wonder how many ready mix plants have their own ice machines to keep up with that demand in the summer if they're adding a lot of shaved ice to the trucks?  I've seen concrete guys also use finishing aid and evaporation retarder to reduce surface-moisture evaporation on hot and windy days.  It allows them enough time to strike off, bull float and hop on and finish without the concrete getting away from them by setting up too fast.  Can be tough if they are needing to do a decorative stamp on big area, it starts off easy but they really gotta pound on the stamps near the end to get an even imprint.

 

https://www.concrete...tion-retarders/

 

Day1: https://concretesupp...-finishing-aid/

 

Confilm: https://www.lehighha...fvrsn=2f8ac8d7_

Not unusual for us to set up around 25-30k SF of parking lots at a time but during a summer like this year we cut back to around 15k SF, def can add a couple pours to the schedule of doing in summers. Even starting in the middle of the night can still be hard as it gets so hot so early and in some places not allowed to do the early pours because of noise. 

[Stadtplan]

DPR Published their Q3 2022 Market Conditions Report.  The section on Core Market Insights has some good information.

 

https://cdn.dpr.com/...ions-Report.pdf