tools-only Price API for Construction Materials
Overview
Material prices fluctuate constantly. This skill fetches prices from open sources, tracks trends, and updates cost databases with current market data.
Python Implementation
import requests
import pandas as pd
from typing import Dict, Any, List, Optional
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
from enum import Enum
import json
class MaterialCategory(Enum):
"""Construction material categories."""
CONCRETE = "concrete"
STEEL = "steel"
LUMBER = "lumber"
COPPER = "copper"
ALUMINUM = "aluminum"
CEMENT = "cement"
AGGREGATES = "aggregates"
ASPHALT = "asphalt"
@dataclass
class MaterialPrice:
"""Material price point."""
material: str
price: float
unit: str
currency: str
source: str
date: datetime
region: str = ""
@dataclass
class PriceTrend:
"""Price trend analysis."""
material: str
current_price: float
week_change: float
month_change: float
year_change: float
trend_direction: str # 'up', 'down', 'stable'
class OpenPriceAPI:
"""Client for open material price APIs."""
# Commodity price sources
FRED_BASE = "https://api.stlouisfed.org/fred/series/observations"
# FRED Series IDs for construction commodities
FRED_SERIES = {
'steel': 'WPU101',
'lumber': 'WPS0811',
'concrete': 'WPU133',
'copper': 'PCOPPUSDM',
'aluminum': 'PALUMUSDM'
}
def __init__(self, fred_api_key: Optional[str] = None):
self.fred_api_key = fred_api_key
def get_fred_prices(self, material: str,
start_date: str = None,
end_date: str = None) -> List[MaterialPrice]:
"""Get prices from FRED API."""
if material.lower() not in self.FRED_SERIES:
return []
series_id = self.FRED_SERIES[material.lower()]
if start_date is None:
start_date = (datetime.now() - timedelta(days=365)).strftime('%Y-%m-%d')
if end_date is None:
end_date = datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')
params = {
'series_id': series_id,
'observation_start': start_date,
'observation_end': end_date,
'file_type': 'json'
}
if self.fred_api_key:
params['api_key'] = self.fred_api_key
try:
response = requests.get(self.FRED_BASE, params=params)
if response.status_code != 200:
return []
data = response.json()
observations = data.get('observations', [])
prices = []
for obs in observations:
try:
price = float(obs['value'])
prices.append(MaterialPrice(
material=material,
price=price,
unit='index',
currency='USD',
source='FRED',
date=datetime.strptime(obs['date'], '%Y-%m-%d'),
region='US'
))
except (ValueError, KeyError):
continue
return prices
except Exception as e:
print(f"Error fetching FRED data: {e}")
return []
def to_dataframe(self, prices: List[MaterialPrice]) -> pd.DataFrame:
"""Convert prices to DataFrame."""
data = [{
'material': p.material,
'price': p.price,
'unit': p.unit,
'currency': p.currency,
'source': p.source,
'date': p.date,
'region': p.region
} for p in prices]
return pd.DataFrame(data)
class ConstructionPriceTracker:
"""Track and analyze construction material prices."""
# Default regional factors
REGIONAL_FACTORS = {
'US_National': 1.0,
'US_Northeast': 1.15,
'US_Southeast': 0.95,
'US_Midwest': 0.92,
'US_West': 1.10,
'Germany': 1.25,
'UK': 1.20,
'France': 1.18
}
def __init__(self):
self.price_cache: Dict[str, pd.DataFrame] = {}
def calculate_trend(self, prices: pd.DataFrame) -> PriceTrend:
"""Calculate price trend from historical data."""
if prices.empty or 'price' not in prices.columns:
return None
prices = prices.sort_values('date')
current = prices['price'].iloc[-1]
# Calculate changes
week_ago_idx = len(prices) - 7 if len(prices) >= 7 else 0
month_ago_idx = len(prices) - 30 if len(prices) >= 30 else 0
year_ago_idx = len(prices) - 365 if len(prices) >= 365 else 0
week_price = prices['price'].iloc[week_ago_idx]
month_price = prices['price'].iloc[month_ago_idx]
year_price = prices['price'].iloc[year_ago_idx]
week_change = ((current - week_price) / week_price * 100) if week_price else 0
month_change = ((current - month_price) / month_price * 100) if month_price else 0
year_change = ((current - year_price) / year_price * 100) if year_price else 0
# Determine trend
if month_change > 5:
trend = 'up'
elif month_change < -5:
trend = 'down'
else:
trend = 'stable'
return PriceTrend(
material=prices['material'].iloc[0],
current_price=current,
week_change=round(week_change, 2),
month_change=round(month_change, 2),
year_change=round(year_change, 2),
trend_direction=trend
)
def apply_regional_factor(self, base_price: float,
region: str) -> float:
"""Apply regional price factor."""
factor = self.REGIONAL_FACTORS.get(region, 1.0)
return base_price * factor
def update_cost_database(self, cost_df: pd.DataFrame,
price_updates: Dict[str, float],
date_column: str = 'last_updated') -> pd.DataFrame:
"""Update cost database with new prices."""
updated = cost_df.copy()
for material, price in price_updates.items():
# Find rows with this material
mask = updated['material'].str.lower() == material.lower()
if mask.any():
# Calculate adjustment factor
old_price = updated.loc[mask, 'unit_price'].mean()
factor = price / old_price if old_price > 0 else 1
# Update prices
updated.loc[mask, 'unit_price'] *= factor
updated.loc[mask, date_column] = datetime.now()
return updated
class MaterialPriceEstimator:
"""Estimate material prices when API data unavailable."""
# Reference prices (USD per unit, as of 2024)
REFERENCE_PRICES = {
'concrete_m3': 120,
'rebar_ton': 800,
'structural_steel_ton': 1200,
'lumber_mbf': 450,
'copper_wire_kg': 12,
'brick_1000': 550,
'cement_ton': 130,
'sand_m3': 35,
'gravel_m3': 40,
'drywall_m2': 8,
'insulation_m2': 25
}
def estimate_price(self, material: str,
region: str = 'US_National',
inflation_adjustment: float = 0) -> float:
"""Estimate current price for material."""
base_price = self.REFERENCE_PRICES.get(material, 0)
if base_price == 0:
return 0
# Apply inflation
adjusted = base_price * (1 + inflation_adjustment)
# Apply regional factor
tracker = ConstructionPriceTracker()
return tracker.apply_regional_factor(adjusted, region)
def bulk_estimate(self, materials: List[str],
region: str = 'US_National') -> pd.DataFrame:
"""Estimate prices for multiple materials."""
estimates = []
for material in materials:
price = self.estimate_price(material, region)
estimates.append({
'material': material,
'estimated_price': price,
'region': region,
'source': 'estimate',
'date': datetime.now()
})
return pd.DataFrame(estimates)
Quick Start
# Initialize price API
api = OpenPriceAPI(fred_api_key="your_key")
# Get steel prices
steel_prices = api.get_fred_prices('steel')
df = api.to_dataframe(steel_prices)
print(df.tail())
# Analyze trend
tracker = ConstructionPriceTracker()
trend = tracker.calculate_trend(df)
print(f"Steel trend: {trend.trend_direction}, YoY: {trend.year_change}%")
Common Use Cases
1. Update Cost Database
tracker = ConstructionPriceTracker()
# New prices from market
updates = {'steel': 1250, 'concrete': 135, 'lumber': 480}
# Update database
updated_db = tracker.update_cost_database(cost_df, updates)
2. Regional Pricing
base_price = 120 # concrete USD/m3
berlin_price = tracker.apply_regional_factor(base_price, 'Germany')
print(f"Berlin price: ${berlin_price}/m3")
3. Bulk Estimation
estimator = MaterialPriceEstimator()
materials = ['concrete_m3', 'rebar_ton', 'lumber_mbf']
estimates = estimator.bulk_estimate(materials, region='US_West')
print(estimates)
Resources
- DDC Book: Chapter 2.2 - Open Data Sources
- FRED API: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/