Construction materials prices rose 11.0% in the year to September, the largest gain since May 2022

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 08:37:25 -0400

Prices for construction materials rose 11.0% in the 12 months to September 2026, the largest 12-month increase since May 2022, according to the Producer Price Index the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on October 15. The construction materials index, a BLS measure of the prices producers receive for goods that go into buildings and roads, reached 378.610 (1982 = 100). That is the highest reading in a series that starts in January 1947. The September figure is preliminary and not seasonally adjusted, meaning BLS has not removed the usual seasonal swings from it.

From August the index rose 0.7%. BLS revised August down to 375.792, from the 375.908 it first published. The index has risen in every month since November 2025, when it stood at 338.556.

The construction materials index set a record in September

Producer Price Index for construction materials, index 1982 = 100, not seasonally adjusted, monthly since September 2024

June through September 2026 are preliminary. Source: fred.stlouisfed.org

Producer price indexes for construction products, sorted by the change over 12 months. Each index has its own base period, so compare the percentage changes across rows. June through September 2026 are preliminary.
Product	BLS series	September 2025	August 2026	September 2026	12-month change (%)	Change on August (%)
Copper and brass mill shapes	WPU102502	642.679	823.438	835.342	30.0%	1.4%
Steel mill products	WPU1017	304.579	380.348	388.580	27.6%	2.2%
Aluminum mill shapes	WPU102501	295.898	370.931	370.480	25.2%	-0.1%
Nonferrous wire and cable	WPU1026	394.684	483.958	485.492	23.0%	0.3%
Hot rolled bars plates and structural shapes	WPU101704	277.952	310.493	319.693	15.0%	3.0%
Softwood lumber	WPU0811	252.782	294.506	288.562	14.2%	-2.0%
Plywood	WPU083	269.614	298.353	303.660	12.6%	1.8%
Precast concrete products	WPU1334	418.458	457.007	462.392	10.5%	1.2%
Prefabricated metal buildings	WPU1079	556.407	606.127	606.565	9.0%	0.1%
Paving mixtures and blocks	WPU1394	403.862	432.245	432.695	7.1%	0.1%
Sheet metal products	WPU1073	338.491	359.095	361.123	6.7%	0.6%
Construction sand gravel and crushed stone	WPU1321	529.585	562.195	563.041	6.3%	0.2%
Fabricated structural metal	WPU107405	359.691	371.452	380.544	5.8%	2.4%
Prepared paint	WPU0621	431.420	453.979	452.904	5.0%	-0.2%
Plastics construction products	WPU072106	339.420	355.346	355.051	4.6%	-0.1%
Insulation materials	WPU1392	285.809	289.038	293.639	2.7%	1.6%
Asphalt roofing and siding products	WPU1361	356.618	373.881	366.372	2.7%	-2.0%
Ready-mix concrete	WPU1333	386.267	395.299	395.319	2.3%	0.0%
Gypsum products	WPU137	482.101	484.844	488.936	1.4%	0.8%
Brick and structural clay tile	WPU1342	270.097	272.819	272.819	1.0%	0.0%
Cement	WPU1322	360.462	356.119	356.209	-1.2%	0.0%

Source: bls.gov

Metals led the increase

Metal products showed the largest increases. Copper and brass mill shapes rose 30.0% over the year and steel mill products 27.6%, the steepest 12-month rise for steel since May 2022. Aluminum mill shapes rose 25.2%. Nonferrous wire and cable rose 23.0%.

Hot rolled bars, plates and structural shapes rose 15.0% over the year and 3.0% from August alone, the largest one-month gain in the table. Fabricated structural metal rose a smaller 5.8% over the year but 2.4% in September. BLS names fabricated structural metal products among the indexes that moved higher in its September release.

The steel index remains below its 2021 peak. Steel mill products reached 449.711 in December 2021 and stood at 388.580 in September 2026.

Wood, concrete and finishes

Softwood lumber rose 14.2% over the year and plywood 12.6%. Lumber fell 2.0% from August, one of the few declines in September.

Concrete and masonry moved much less. Precast concrete products rose 10.5%, but ready-mix concrete rose 2.3%, gypsum products 1.4% and brick 1.0%, and cement fell 1.2%. Insulation and asphalt roofing products each rose 2.7% over the year, and asphalt roofing fell 2.0% in September. Paving mixtures and blocks rose 7.1%, and sand, gravel and crushed stone 6.3%.

Inputs by type of building

BLS also groups the goods bought for each kind of construction. Its index of goods used as inputs to nonresidential construction rose 11.2% in the year to September, to 184.909 (June 2010 = 100). The matching index for residential construction rose 9.7%, to 355.225. For both, it was the largest 12-month increase since November 2022.

Diesel fuel

Diesel is not part of the materials index, but it runs the excavators, trucks and generators on every site. The producer price index for No. 2 diesel fuel stood at 675.626 in September, 115.2% above September 2025 and 24.2% above August. It is about 2.5 times its January 2026 level of 266.645. In its release, BLS says diesel fuel accounts for nearly half of the September rise in its index of processed goods for intermediate demand, which tracks goods that businesses buy to make other products.

Diesel producer prices more than doubled over the year

Producer Price Index for No. 2 diesel fuel, not seasonally adjusted, monthly since September 2024

June through September 2026 are preliminary. Source: api.bls.gov

What this means for your bids

A materials quote you priced in the spring may not hold for work that starts this winter. For the trades in the top half of the table, compare the change in your supplier’s price since your last bid with the change in the matching index. Then decide how long to hold your own number. If a supplier’s increase runs well above the index for that product, ask what is behind the difference.

On public work, read the bid documents for any price adjustment or escalation clause before you price metals or fuel risk into a lump sum. PennDOT posts a monthly asphalt cement and diesel fuel price index in ECMS, its online contracting system, and its published bid packages link to the index for the month of the letting. Montgomery County is in PennDOT Engineering District 6, which falls in the asphalt index’s Zone 1 with Districts 3, 4, 5 and 8. Whether an adjustment applies to your job depends on the contract, so ask the owner or your attorney when the documents are unclear. The public bids guide covers where local agencies advertise their work.

For how this index fits with local jobs and permits, see construction jobs, permits and materials prices. For the national picture, see Construction Metrics. BLS has scheduled the October figures for November 13, 2026.

Caveats

The figures for June through September 2026 are preliminary. BLS says all PPI data are subject to revision up to four months after they are first published, and it revised May through August in this release.

The PPI measures prices received by domestic producers for their output. A contractor in Conshohocken pays a distributor’s or yard’s price, which adds markup, delivery and local conditions, so a quote can move faster or slower than the index.

These are national indexes and do not break out the Philadelphia area. They show the direction of the prices that local suppliers and yards pay producers.

The indexes are not seasonally adjusted, so a change from one month to the next can include a seasonal swing. The 12-month change compares the same month in each year.