Year-to-Year construction costs experienced a modest decrease in April as seen in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Chart below. However, Construction material prices (Inputs to Nonresidential Construction, Goods) increased month-to-month at a 0.42% rate from March 2023 to April 2023 (slightly exceeding the revised 0.4% rate from February 2023 to March 2023). The BLS PPI now reflects a year-to-year decrease in materials costs of 0.82% (slightly greater than the revised 0.71% decrease experienced in March). Labor costs continue to increase (but at a much-reduced pace) year-to-year and according to BLS data, total compensation costs for all employees in construction now stands at a 5.42% increase (up slightly from a 5.39% year-to-year increase last month). But Labor Costs for Non-Supervisory and Production Employees increased to 6.73% Year-to-Year (up from 6.62% last month). For a 52% Material to 48% Labor (all Employees) mix, the year-to-year overall escalation rate is now 2.17%, reflecting a decrease from the revised 2.22% last month. If we use only the nonsupervisory employee data, that Year-to-Year rate increases to 2.80%, virtually unchanged from the 2.81% rate last month.

Suzanne Moltzen has been the CEO of RIB U.S.COST since 2015. She started in 1999 as CFO. A Purdue graduate with a Master of Science in Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Suzanne brings a different and sometimes unique perspective to our mostly technically focused team. She finds great humor in the fact that her first day as CEO was on April Fool’s Day.

When asked what are the biggest challenges: “Client satisfaction comes first, and we have a great team dedicated to that. However, that sometimes comes at the cost of sacrificing that delicate work-life balance for our employees. How can we improve this, so it is a win-win for clients and employees?” In addition, “As a professional services company, we are our people. I am proud to say that we have a very diverse group of employees spread across the country, so trying to maintain a ‘RIB U.S.COST’ culture can be difficult, especially for those employees embedded at client sites. I want our employees to really feel that they are each an integral member of something great.”

Outside of work, Suzanne loves NFL football, reading outside, traveling, and lifting weights. She’s been married for 25 years and has three step-daughters and six grandchildren. She’s grateful that through work, she’s been able to visit China, Vietnam, Australia, UAE, and Germany. On personal vacations, “we spend a great deal of time in the Caribbean and Central America – any place warm and anytime outside of rainy season.”