A second supplier of materials to the construction industry is to increase the prices it charges for ready-mix concrete and concrete block.

Mike Bierman, the owner of Bierman Concrete Products Ltd, said the as-yet-determined increases were planned “many months ago”.

The news comes after SAL Trading Limited, a major supplier to the industry, announced on January 1 that its prices for concrete and block were going up by as much as 50 per cent.

That has prompted fears that construction projects will be cancelled, and jobs will be lost.

Mr Bierman said the price increases will be announced in the next couple of weeks.

He added: “But they will be nothing compared to what has happened now.”

Bierman’s, which its owner says has a “good portion” of the market, currently sells 3000 psi ready mix concrete for $255.55 a cubic yard. Eight-inch block goes for $3.06 and ten-inch block costs $3.48.

Prices have been kept in check, Mr Bierman said, “because I make my own aggregates – it’s that simple”.

SAL’s recently announced price increases, for the same products, were to $406, $5.11 and $5.68.

Mr Bierman said the price increases to come are the result of rising costs across all phases of his business – fuel, tires, maintenance, and more.

He said the company’s monthly diesel fuel bill sometimes reaches $30,000.

Mr Bierman said it is “impossible to say” what the increases will be before sitting down with his accountants.