The latest Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data indicates that increasingly stable construction materials prices and recent supply chain improvements over the past few months may signal "positive economic outcomes" within the United States, Construction Dive reports.

"Goods prices continue to stagnate in the context of improved supply chains and a sluggish global economy," ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu explained in the analysis. "It has been the improvement of supply chains that best explains recent positive economic outcomes in the U.S. economy. As supply chains have normalized, unmet demand has been more readily satisfied. That has propelled transactional volume and economic growth."

"At the same time," Basu continued, "the improved supply chain has helped push prices lower, contributing to the disinflation observable both in yesterday’s consumer price index data and today’s producer price index release. With the exception of energy prices, which are heavily influenced by a cocktail of geopolitics, weather, and investor frenzy, construction materials prices should be reasonably stable during the months to come."

More recent economic reporting on Archinect:

• Stagnation in commercial construction sees 1% Dodge Momentum Index decline
• AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker looks into the financial headwinds and construction activity for the remainder of 2023
• Nonresidential construction spending to surge 20% by end of 2023, says AIA