Many construction experts and school officials say they expect the costs of building materials to continue to rise because of the Dec. 26 tsunami in South Asia.
While there are no hard figures yet, some say efforts to rebuild the devastated areas will likely drive up demand even further for materials used to build schools in the United States.
“There’s a certain amount of precedent for that happening with other natural disasters,” usually when the rebuilding phase begins several months later, said Daniel R. Mader, the president of Fanning/ Howey Associates, an architecture and engineering firm in Celina, Ohio.
Last year, the prices of steel, concrete, plywood, and other supplies rose significantly, mainly because of a building boom in Asia and supply shortages in the United States. (“Costs Climb on Materials for Schools,” Sept. 1, 2004.)
