The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has released its latest analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data for the month of November. The Index remained unchanged as inputs to nonresidential construction gained 0.1%.

Overall construction input prices are now 0.5% higher than they were a year ago, whereas nonresidential construction input prices are 0.3% higher. Prices for concrete products, steel mill products, softwood lumber, and wood products all increased.

"Construction input prices are up just 0.2% through the first 11 months of 2024," ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu said. "However, that encouraging year-to-date price growth primarily reflects declining energy prices and obscures price escalation that has occurred for specific materials. Prices for copper wire and cable and softwood lumber, for instance, are up nearly 12% year over year."

"While input prices have, in total, been well behaved, yesterday’s Consumer Price Index release indicated that economywide inflation reaccelerated in November," Basu added. "The year-over-year rate of price increase, at 2.7%, remains close to the Federal  Reserve’s 2.0% target, yet the recent uptick suggests that inflation may prove more stubborn than previously expected. This rebound in inflation aside, contractors remain optimistic about the coming year, with greater than 60% expecting their sales to increase over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index."

The ABC analysis of October’s hurricane-impacted construction input price data can also be found here.