ABC said construction input prices rose 2.2% in September and 11.2% from a year earlier as energy costs and tariffed metals climbed.
Construction input prices increased 2.2% in September from August, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Producer Price Index data released October 15. Nonresidential construction input prices rose 2.3% for the month.
Both overall and nonresidential input prices were up 11.2% from September 2025. ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu said that is the largest annual increase in nearly four years.
Energy led the monthly jump. Crude petroleum prices rose 28.3% and unprocessed energy materials prices climbed 22.2%, while natural gas prices increased 5.1%.
Metals kept rising too. ABC’s data table shows iron and steel prices up 20.7% from a year earlier, steel mill products up 27.6% and copper wire and cable up 30.8%. Softwood lumber prices fell 2.0% in September but remained 14.2% higher than a year ago.
Chart: Associated Builders and Contractors / abc.org
“While higher fuel prices brought about by the conflict in Iran have driven a substantial portion of the increase, prices for tariffed materials like iron, copper and other metal products continue to rise rapidly,” Basu said.
He added that the ongoing climb in materials prices helps explain why over a quarter of ABC contractors, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, expect profit margins to shrink in the next six months.
Chart: Associated Builders and Contractors / abc.org