Construction material prices increased 0.4% from June to July, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Construction material prices are 2.2% higher than a year ago.
“Construction materials prices continued to increase too quickly in July,” ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu said in a statement. “Nonresidential input prices have risen at a 5.8% annualized rate since January, and trade policy will likely continue to put upward pressure on materials prices over the next several months. While contractors remain relatively upbeat, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, input price escalation may diminish profit margins during the final months of the year.”
Read the full report here.
