Construction Materials Costs Outrun Overall Producer Prices
"Overall, producer prices are remaining well behaved, with only a 0.2 percent increase in May and a 1.5 percent increase in the last year, outside of food and energy," Simonson noted. "But the PPI for construction materials and components jumped 1.2 percent last month and 7.8 percent over 12 months. By project type, the 12-month increases range from 8 percent for new single-unit residential construction to 16 percent for highway construction.
"Many materials are contributing to the increase," Simonson commented. "In the last 12 months, there have been increases of 87 percent for copper and brass mill shapes, 48 percent for asphalt, 40 percent for diesel fuel, 26 percent for gypsum products, 18 percent for plastic construction products, and 15 percent for cement.