Materials costs jumped 30%
Regional builders in Thurgoona report material costs up about 30%, with broad pressure on supplies from PVC to fuel that feed into renovation budgets (bordermail.com.au). At the same time Export Development Canada says it has deployed C$2.1 billion to help businesses hit by new tariff pressures, specifically naming steel, aluminum, lumber and building materials among strained sectors (canadianmanufacturing.com).
Builders in Thurgoona say renovation and home-building costs have jumped about 30%, as price rises spread from PVC pipe to fuel. (bordermail.com.au) Hadar Homes told The Border Mail that PVC pipe prices are up 37% since the war in Iran began, adding to broader increases hitting regional jobs in Albury-Wodonga. A separate AAP report said more than a dozen suppliers had already warned construction customers about fuel-linked price rises of up to 20%. (bordermail.com.au, bordermail.com.au) The pressure is not confined to one town or one product. On April 16, Export Development Canada said it had deployed C$2.1 billion through its Trade Impact Program to about 800 companies facing tariffs and market uncertainty, with steel, aluminum, lumber, manufacturing and agri-food among the hardest-hit sectors. (edc.ca) Export Development Canada said C$1.8 billion of that support was delivered by the end of 2025 and another C$337 million has gone out so far in 2026. The agency’s broader program is designed to facilitate up to C$5 billion over two years for exporters dealing with tariff pressure and disrupted trade flows. (edc.ca, edc.ca) In Australia, the cost squeeze is landing as residential building activity remains large in dollar terms. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said the seasonally adjusted value of total residential building approvals rose 30.8% to A$12.50 billion in February 2026, while total dwellings approved rose 29.7% to 19,022. (abs.gov.au) That means builders are trying to price jobs in a market where demand has lifted but key inputs remain volatile. Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Andrew Hauser said on February 24 that part of the inflation pickup in late 2025 came from travel and fuel prices, which had also fed into business costs. (rba.gov.au) Regional contractors are especially exposed because they buy smaller volumes and have less room to absorb sudden supplier increases than national firms. The Border Mail has reported similar strain before, with one Albury-Wodonga builder saying fix-out material costs had jumped 39% “in one hit” during an earlier industry crunch. (bordermail.com.au) The immediate effect is showing up in quotes, contract margins and renovation budgets. For builders in Thurgoona, the latest round of PVC, fuel and freight increases means the next customer estimate is likely to come in higher than the last one. (bordermail.com.au, bordermail.com.au)
