September 15, 2021

ConsensusDocs Price Escalation Resource Center

Material price escalation spikes and supply shortages threaten builders’ financial viability in today’s construction market.  ConsensusDocs, the leader in standard construction contracts, has compiled resources below to address price escalation. The best approach is to include price escalation provision, such as the ConsensusDocs 200.1 Material Price Escalation Amendment  in your construction agreement at contract signing. Click here to get a free sample of the 200.1. A material price escalation clause adjusts the contract price based upon a certain metric, usually an objective index. Existing contracts that do not contain a price escalation provision can utilize a price escalation amendment if both parties agree. Choosing a reliable material price index that specifically and accurately addresses the prices involved on a particular project is one of the more difficult aspects of drafting a price escalation clause and the below resources now include some indexes that are available for construction.

Owners, Constructors, General Contractors, Subcontractors alike should consider price escalation/de-escalation clauses in these uncertainty times. ConsensusDocs is the only publisher of a standard price escalation clause. The ConsensusDocs 200.1 Standard Time and Price Impacted Materials Addendum and Schedule A is available on all paid subscriptions. “Rather than guessing to price out cost fluctuations, owners and builders would be wise to consider a best practice price escalation clause that is tied to an objective index agreed upon ahead of time, that allow prices to go up, or down. Hope and a contingency fund don’t qualify as a risk management strategy,” says Brian Perlberg, Executive Director and Senior Counsel for ConsensusDocs.

Typically, constructors, subcontractors, and materials suppliers typically bear the risk for cost increases in a firm-fixed or lump sum agreement, even if such increases are unforeseen and not their fault. However, supply shortages, could give rise for excusable performance delay, but paying higher costs for material supplies are usually considered a business risk. Some additional mitigation strategies, include limiting the amount of time a bid can be relied upon; using cost of the work agreements (i.e. ConsensusDocs 230 or 500) rather than lump sum agreements (i.e. ConsensusDocs 205 or 751); breaking projects into phases; providing allowances or alternates for materials; early procurement and storage of materials (see the ConsensusDocs 750.1 Storage Rider); prefabrication (see ConsensusDocs 753 Prefab agreement); or increasing contingency amounts to allow for material price increases.

By: Brian Perlberg, ConsensusDocs Executive Director & Senior Counsel.

ConsensusDocs standard construction contracts are the only contracts written and supported by a coalition of leading design and construction industry organizations. With a catalog of 100+ contract documents addressing all project delivery methods, ConsensusDocs contracts incorporate fair risk allocation and best practices to represent a project’s best interests. The Coalition’s organizations collectively represent hundreds of thousands of design professionals, owners, contractors, subcontractors, and sureties. For more information, please visit www.consensusdocs.org, call 866-925-DOCS (3627) or email support@consensusdocs.org