Construction Worker Shortage Exacerbates Spikes in Waste Removal Expenses

By Carmine Esposito, National Waste Associates

The need for 2.2 million new construction workers over the next three years has impacted the industry in many unforeseen ways. A spike in construction projects, a shortage of workers, rising material costs, the great resignation, and a massive exit of 300+ million retirees in the U.S. job market have culminated into troubled territory marked by a shortage of seasoned professionals, including Estimators, Procurement Professionals, and Project Managers. The loss of these seasoned professionals in the Construction Industry and the drastic change in waste removal pricing naturally have a domino effect contributing to out-of-control job costs. How can you manage through so many variables impacting construction pricing? Here are some causes and solutions to the current climate where construction worker shortage meets waste cost hikes.

Waste fees are up almost 40%

Across most industries, waste hauling extra fees are now almost 40% up. What are these fees and how are they justified? Fees include:

⦁ Driver shortages
⦁ Equipment shortages
⦁ Fuel surcharges
⦁ Processing and/or transportation costs
⦁ Changes in local, state, or federal laws or regulations
⦁ Supply/Demand
⦁ Acts of God such as floods, fires, hurricanes, and natural disasters
⦁ Increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI)

While these fees have a legitimate cause, not all are entirely justified. Right now, some costs are genuinely going up and must be accounted for by raising prices, but we’re also seeing more creative and aggressive price increases.

So how does a new hire with little experience judge construction waste costs in today’s chaotic atmosphere? Often, they can’t and are hard-pressed to trust previous bids as they are no longer a reliable comparison – though examination of old proposals was once a standard and appropriate practice. Until stability returns, decision-makers must have experience, history, and connections with waste experts to know if they’re getting fair and accurate pricing that is competitive and based on current market conditions.

Unprecedented rate hikes and market prices with fewer seasoned professionals to control costs

Inflationary pricing calls for proactive measures. Specifically, now that rates are exceedingly high, comparing new pricing to previous jobs or contracts isn’t easy. Real-time pricing is necessary, and a management team must recognize and know when to change to a new strategy and new pricing. If they are available, bringing in professional management can help narrow down accurate pricing. Bidding still offers a competitive advantage to learn the actual costs and get the best pricing but doing so with less seasoned staff is a serious challenge. Baseline comparisons are currently ineffective measurement tools, and new measurement tools are required to move forward for effective waste removal pricing.

Soliciting quotes early as a strategy to control costs

Competitive waste pricing is often based on timing, markets, and needs. In a stable environment, companies tend to go with familiar names who were previously priced at competitive rates. But the rate at which prices are escalating gives urgent cause for soliciting new bids or sourcing a trustworthy waste service provider who knows the market conditions and specializes in getting multiple quotes from proven haulers.

Now is the time for price corrections, whether purchasing teams are ready or not. While some construction companies think they’re getting similar pricing that they did in the past, it’s likely just the base price and doesn’t include extra fees like fuel, environmental costs, etc., that will be tacked on later. Right now, many construction companies could be spending more than they think because only the base price is being checked by either the Project Manager or Accounts Payable when waste bills arrive.

Lowering construction waste costs with the efficiency and convenience of National Waste Associates

Construction waste costs can be tackled with the team of professionals at National Waste Associates. Going beyond typical hauler structures and fees and leveraging creative problem solving, innovation, and immense cost savings is what competitive construction companies need in these times. We recognize these dynamics, and our structure works to manage haulers for you by soliciting bids, sourcing them, setting up deliveries and pick-ups, proactively fighting and managing price increases, and paying haulers on your construction company’s behalf. In these tumultuous times, we offer the convenience of managing all construction sites on one bill and the efficiency of facilitating haulers to bid for your jobs. Find out more here. Our structure, operations, and resources provide a better way to augment the current situation where the construction worker shortage exacerbates construction waste removal bills.

National Waste Associates’ exclusive prices are also inclusive, and we go out to market for each job. We do the grunt work, schedule the services, and pay the bills for our construction clients, whether you’re working on one large-scale project or multiple projects across multiple states or across the nation.

Would you like our experts to evaluate your waste contract to see
if you’re getting the best pricing?

Leverage the NWA team that fights to lower your waste costs. See the difference and get back to business with genuinely competitive waste management pricing.

Call us at 1-888-692-5005 x6 today or
email us at sales@nationalwaste.com

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