Skilled trades favor data-center projects over home-building work
Home builders are pulling back on new projects as construction costs rise. In a Nov. 2 report, The Wall Street Journal described pressure across the construction supply chain. Reporters Nicholas G. Miller and Alana Pipe said the war in Iran, tariffs and the AI build-out had increased what homebuilders must pay for materials, labor, transportation and warehousing.
Tariffs directly raised the prices of construction inputs. The report said tariffs increased costs for materials ranging from drywall to windows to lumber, adding to the expense of starting a new home.
President Trump’s 50% tariff on imports of aluminum, combined with higher energy bills, pushed up aluminum prices dramatically, Miller and Pipe said. Aluminum is used for siding, window frames and gutters.
The cost pressure extended beyond construction materials. Home builders also faced higher costs for distribution, storage and transportation of materials and tools, according to the report. Warehousing and delivery expenses added to the burden described by the reporters.
Soaring diesel prices raised trucking firms’ costs for delivering plywood, concrete and floorboards to jobsites, the report said. Home builders were left paying more to move heavy materials to construction sites.
Wholesalers and retailers also were lifting prices because of rising expenses tied to tariffs and energy inflation, according to The Wall Street Journal. The increases meant home builders encountered higher costs at more than one point in the distribution chain.
Labor was becoming harder to find and more expensive. The report said many skilled tradespeople were choosing lucrative data-center projects rather than work on homes, giving builders more competition for experienced workers.
Miller and Pipe also said the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement and sharp increase in deportations had devastated home builders’ workforces in some parts of the country. The labor pressure came alongside price increases affecting materials, freight and storage.
UBS analysts attributed an average increase in home-building costs to tariffs. Taken together, the report described builders facing more expensive inputs and labor that was harder to find and costlier. Their response was to pull back from new projects.
Autonomous mining brief: Electric haulers expand
In a separate brief, Peter Landers reported for The Wall Street Journal that trucks hauling 90 tons of coal across China’s largest open-pit coal mine provide a glimpse into the future of autonomous electric trucking. Autonomous vehicles have been taking a bigger role at mines worldwide for years. Many are now going electric, especially in China, as diesel prices skyrocket and new technology makes it possible for heavy-duty trucks to charge quickly or swap batteries in minutes.
The trucks at Yimin operate 24 hours a day, stopping only for six minutes to swap out their batteries.
Eacon, a Hong Kong-listed company that provides software for autonomous mining trucks, says its battery-electric fleet in China more than doubled this year to 1,800 vehicles. Demand is growing outside China too.
Some 90% of Rio Tinto’s hauling trucks at iron-ore mines in Western Australia’s Pilbara region are autonomous. All three of Australia’s top miners are testing battery-electric haulers.
Canada-EU policy brief: von der Leyen seeks closer ties
A separate policy brief quoted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Canada’s relationship with the EU:
“Canada cannot become a full-fledged member of the EU because of geography. But we want to bring our relationship to the highest level possible.”
— European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.