Construction Input Prices Barely Budge in September

by David Flaherty | 25 November 2025 3:09 pm

[1]

Construction input prices increased 0.2 percent in September compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data. Nonresidential construction input prices also increased 0.2 percent for the month.
Overall construction input prices were 3.5 percent higher than in September 2024, while nonresidential construction input prices were 3.8 percent higher. Prices decreased in all three energy categories in September. Natural gas and unprocessed energy materials prices were down 8.7 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively, while crude petroleum prices were down 1.7 percent in September.
Iron and steel were down 1.0 percent in September and 9 percent year over year. Other materials include construction machinery[2] and equipment (up 0.3 percent in September and 4.4 percent y/y), copper wire and cable (down 4.3 percent in September and up 9.1 percent y/y), fabricated structural metal products (up 0.6 percent in September and 6.7 y/y), hot rolled steel bars, plates, and structural shapes (up 0.8 percent in September and 2.9 percent y/y), insulation materials (down 0.1 percent in September and down 0.5 percent y/y), and steel mill products (down 1.5 percent in September and 13.1 percent y/y).
“Construction input prices rose for the fifth straight month in September,” says ABC chief economist Anirban Basu. “While that represents the longest streak of monthly increases since the first half of 2022, those increases are relatively modest. Materials prices have risen at a 3.2 percent annualized rate since April, a rate that is faster than ideal but nowhere near the escalation that occurred in 2021 and 2022.
“Unfortunately, it’s unclear how higher tariffs on key materials [such as] iron, steel, aluminum, and copper will affect prices over the next several months, and it’s noteworthy that commodities related to those materials have exhibited significant year-over-year price increases,” said Basu. “Despite the prospect of ongoing materials price escalation, contractors remain cautiously upbeat about their profit margins and sales over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index.”

Source URL: https://www.metalconstructionnews.com/news/construction-input-prices-september-2025/

---