Faced with tensions in the Middle East, the French Federation of Concrete Prefabrication Industrialists is warning of an inevitable increase in costs, raising the risk of project postponements.
In a international context marked by tensions in the Middle Eastthe construction sector finds itself under pressure again. Rising raw material costs, uncertainties about supplies, persistent fragility of activity: theentire construction ecosystem fears a new inflationary episode. A serious threat, and all the more worrying as the sector was barely beginning a phase of stabilization after several years of turbulence.
Concrete prefabrication: the sector warns of a surge in costs
There FIB (French Federation of Concrete Prefabrication Manufacturers)) points a marked increase in the cost of its main inputs – cement, steel, energy, fuels – and evokes a “inevitable increase” which could have a direct impact on the final price of the works. Beyond the immediate impact, the sector fears a domino effect on activity. Certain projects could be postponed, in an already fragile environment.
There French Federation of Concrete Prefabrication Manufacturerswhich indicates that it represents a sector of 18,500 jobs for a turnover – excluding taxes and excluding transport – of close to 3 billion euros, calls on the public authorities to take the necessary measures to “reduce the impact of these increases“.
“While the year 2026 was shaping up to be more favorable for our sector, the context of the international crisis is now causing serious concern among our member companies, who are seeing their prospects for recovery recede,” warns Jacques Platard, here in the photo the president of the FIB. © FIB
Building craftsmen: CAPEB demands a shield in the face of soaring costs
For its part, the CAPEB warns against effects of possible price increases on its members, already under tension, while welcoming the efforts of certain actors to regulate the increases. The organization also calls on the State to reactivate the interministerial crisis committee dedicated to buildingsput in place during the inflationary surge following the war in Ukraine, in order to closely monitor price developments and prevent any deviation.
Weakened for more than nine quarters, the construction craft sector shows a decline in activity close to 4% and the loss of 30,000 jobs. In this already degraded context, international tensions raise fears of a new shock, particularly via a rising prices for materials and energywhich companies, already under pressure, would struggle to absorb.
By the voice of his president, Jean-Christophe ReponCAPEB calls for collective mobilization in order to avoid a new inflationary spiral. It also urges manufacturers and distributors to limit the impact of price increaseswhile welcoming the commitments made during the previous crisis linked to the war in Ukraine, particularly in terms of notice periods. Facing the increase in fuels – and in particular the GNR –, CAPEB also pleads for support from the State in order to preserve the operating conditions of companies.
At the same time, the organization relaunched its price observatory to monitor the evolution of inflation and calls for concrete measures to support activity, in particular by facilitating access to markets and developing certain systems such as the RGE, in an economic context considered particularly uncertain.
The FFB calls for an observatory
For several days, craftsmen and building contractors see an influx of announcements of price increases on materialswhile INSEE revises its growth forecasts slightly downward. A situation that is certainly more uncertain, but still far from the major imbalances observed in 2022-2023.
The FFB recalls that at this stage, the sector is not facing any shortage: tensions remain limited to certain products, directly exposed to energy fluctuations or logistical disruptions, with price changes considered progressive. In this context, the FFB questions the multiplication of preventive announcements of increases, which it considers difficult to justify in view of the real situation of the markets.
The professional organization thus pleads for the quick creation of a public observatory for establishing the building materials prices. It would make it possible to extend what is practiced for certain construction markets, with price revisions based on construction indexes calculated by INSEE. At the same time, the federation requests that companies in the sector, particularly those most exposed to transport costs, benefit from measures comparable to those granted to other branches.
Through the voice of its president, Olivier Salleronthe FFB calls for collective responsibility. It also invites public authorities to explicitly support the generalization of markets – both public and private – with revisable prices, considered to be the only effective lever for absorbing cost variations that are still difficult to anticipate. A crucial issue. Because, at a time when the sector is beginning to show signs of recovery, any uncontrolled inflationary drift could weaken a still precarious dynamic.
