Residential construction input prices climbed 1.3% in April and were up 5.9% from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data. Building material prices, excluding energy, rose 3.7% year-over-year—the strongest annual increase in three years.
Energy input prices, which make up about 7% of the goods index, surged 13.8% in April and 39.4% year-over-year. Building materials, which account for the other 93% of the goods index, were up 0.1% in April and 3.7% year-over-year. Building material prices have grown above 3.0% steadily since July of last year.
The largest year-over-year price increase within input goods was attributed to No. 2 diesel fuel, 74.4% higher than last year.
Service input prices, including trade services, other services and transportation and warehousing services, were up 1.3% in April and 5.6% year-over-year. Trade services, which account for around 60% of the service input index, were up 5.6% from a year ago.
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