Article source: ConstructConnect
This article focuses on the latest U.S. building material cost increases as laid out in the Producer Price Index data set compiled and published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The PPI series measures prices for goods as they leave the factory gate. They’re not necessarily as up-to-the-minute relevant as some other measures. For example, there have been sighs of relief in the marketplace because of recent perceived price softening in the forestry sector. The moderation relates to transactions on commodity exchanges covering ‘spot’ and ‘futures’ prices.
Therefore, some easing may be imminent, and again especially relating to lumber and its byproducts, but there are still numerous cost hikes among other construction material inputs to raise an eyebrow or two.
Prices for steel, aluminum, and copper products, along with gasoline and diesel fuel, have all been climbing significantly higher, to some extent under the cover of the more attention-grabbing advances in forestry products.
