ABC: Construction Materials Prices Fall 0.2% in December, Rise 0.9% Yearly

Construction input prices fell 0.2% in December compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors study of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released.

Nonresidential construction input prices fell 0.2% over the month.

Overall construction input prices are up 0.9% from a year earlier, while nonresidential construction input prices are up 0.6%.

Last month, prices rose across all three energy classifications.

Natural gas prices rose 57.7%, while prices for raw energy materials rose 10.0%. Crude petroleum prices climbed 0.5%.

“Construction materials prices declined slightly in December and are virtually unchanged over the past two years,” Anirban Basu, ABC’s Chief Economist stated.

“Of course, there is significant variability across input categories. Much of the recent moderation can be tracked to lower energy prices; diesel prices, for instance, are down roughly $0.45/gallon since December 2023. Prices for other inputs, like copper wire and cable or sand and gravel products, have escalated significantly over the past year. For the industry, however, the fact that overall input prices have remained flat in recent quarters is purely good news. Just 20% of contractors expect their profit margins to decline over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index.”

[Read more about this topic on abc.org]