Plan for market conditions to get worse before they get better. Despite battling supply chain issues since late 2020, the construction industry will see continued material price escalation over the next couple of years, according to industry sources. The forecast for year-over-year price escalation in 2022 remains between 9% to 12%, said Michael Hardman, vice president of Turner & Townsend, a U.K.-based global real estate and infrastructure consultancy. At the same time, mounting inflation in the U.S. will further compound these difficulties. …Cement and concrete prices have continued to climb recently, reflecting higher production costs, which were up about 14% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2022. …But while prices for cement and concrete jump, other structural materials, such as steel [and lumber], have experienced a slightly different journey.