The National Index of Construction (Sinapi), calculated by IBGE in partnership with Caixa Econômica Federal, changed by 0.62% in December 2008,which meant deceleration of 0.19 percentage points compared to the same year in  relation to November  (0.81%). Compared to the same month in the same month in 2007 (0.76%), the December rate presented decrease (-0.14 percentage points). With this result, the index closed the year of 2008 with increase of 11.73%, significantly above the figure in the year of  2007, when the index was 6.08%.

In December, material (0.62%) and manpower (0.61%) had very similar results. Material, however, faced significant deceleration (-0.43 percentage points) in relation to November (1.05%), whereas manpower rose 0.14 percentage points compared to the November rate (0.47%). The change resulted from salary readjustments granted in the states of Amapá, Piauí and Minas Gerais.

The national cost by square meter changed from R$ 672.62 to R$ 676.78, from November to December, being R$ 395.65 relative to expenses with material and R$ 281.13 to manpower.

In terms of the index accumulated in 2008, material were the main responsible for the acceleration of the construction index, once they got 13.78% more expensive, above the 5.25% registered in 2007. The costs relative to manpower increased 8.97% and were also above the figure in the previous year (7.21%). As a consequence, the national cost by square meter rose from R$ 605.71 in December 2007 to R$ 676.78 in December 2008.

The comparison of series of the national cost of construction, in 2007 and 2008, shows that, after May 2008, the level of change of this cost rose significantly, only falling again after October.

In May, the important positive change was affected by the salary rise of construction workers in the city of São Paulo. The downward trend observed from October on was due, mainly, to the participation of material, the prices of which remained at levels similar to those in the period January-May, with significant rise after June and reaching its peak in September (rise of 2.03%), and falling until December.

Southeast has biggest rise in December and closes 2008 with the highest cost

In December, the Southeast Region, with 0.83%, had the biggest rise of construction cost, whereas the other regions were below the national average (0.62%). The North (0.51%), Northeast (0.51%) and South Regions (0.53%) had very similar changes, whereas the Central West (0.14%) had a lower result than the other regions.

In 2008, the North of the country had the highest accumulated index in the year (13.33%), above that of the other regions: Northeast (11.25%), Southeast (11.66%), South (11.94%) and Central West (11.58%).

In terms of regional costs, the figures by square meter were: R$ 716.80 in the Southeast; R$ 674.90 in the North; R$ 667.06 in the South; R$ 646.76 in the Central West and R$ 632.94 in the Northeast. The Southeast, besides presenting the main rise in December, closed the year with the highest cost by region.  

By comparing changes accumulated throughout the years, the highlight is the South Region, in which construction costs increased, in 2008, 142.19% more than in 2007 (11.94% versus 4.93%), being significantly above the national result in this same comparison (93.09%). The Northeast Region, on the other hand, was below the average in the same comparison, with 51.82%, as shown in the table below:

Piauí and Amapá have highest figures among the states

In December, Piauí and Amapá, due to salary readjustments, had the biggest increases in the monthly change of construction costs: 4.18% and 4.16%, respectively. For the same reason, the state of Minas Gerais had increase of 2.19%. Piauí also had, among the states, the biggest accumulated change in 2008: 16.86%.

These results are calculated monthly by IBGE in partnership with Caixa Econômica Federal, based on the SINAPI – National System of Costs Survey and Indexes of Construction.  Sinapi, created in 1969, is aimed at producing information and indexes for national coverage in a systematic way, in order to help in the elaboration and evaluation of budgets, monitoring of costs, adequacy of material and the scheduling of investments. In 2002, the National Congress sanctioned, through the law LDO (Leis de Diretrizes Orçamentárias), the use of Sinapi as the reference to the calculation of costs in public construction.

DECEMBER/08

SOURCE: IBGE, Diretoria de Pesquisas, Coordenação de Índices de Preços.