Construction Materials Cost Index
July 2025 to July 2026, unadjusted 12-month percent change · source: BLS Producer Price Index news release, July 2026 data (published 2026-08-13) · read 2026-08-17 · updated quarterly (next: November 2026 vintage)
Ask what construction materials cost and you get a shrug; ask what they cost relative to last year and the federal government publishes the answer monthly to a decimal. This page tracks the Producer Price Index for the commodities our calculators deal in. It gets re-read quarterly, every figure is dated, and every figure links to the primary table so you can check us.
The 12-Month Picture
Three Things the Data Says Right Now
Metals are the story. Steel mill products are up 22.5% year over year with five consecutive monthly increases March through July; copper and brass shapes are up 18.4%. If your project is metal-heavy (metal roofing, structural connectors, rebar-dense pours), the quote you got in spring is stale.
Lumber is volatile again. Softwood lumber is +15% YoY, but the path matters more than the level: +12.2% in a single month (March-April), then +8.2% June-July. Framing packages priced more than a few weeks ago deserve a re-check.
Concrete is the calm corner. Cement is actually down 0.7% YoY and concrete products are up just 3.7%, while the asphalt commodity (petroleum-derived) is up 45.4%. The materials under your slab have barely moved; the materials on your roof deck moved with oil.
Full Table
| Commodity (PPI code) | 12-month change |
|---|---|
| Steel mill products (10-17) | +22.5% |
| Copper & brass mill shapes (10-2502) | +18.4% |
| Softwood lumber (08-11) | +15% |
| Nonferrous wire & cable (10-26) | +12.2% |
| Truck freight transportation (30-12) | +10.9% |
| Lumber (all) (08-1) | +10.1% |
| Plywood (08-3) | +9.2% |
| Paving mixtures & blocks (13-94) | +6.6% |
| Sand, gravel & crushed stone (13-21) | +6.2% |
| Fabricated structural metal (10-7) | +6.2% |
| Prepared paint (06-21) | +6.2% |
| Final demand construction (FD-43) | +5.2% |
| Plastic construction products (07-21) | +5% |
| Asphalt felts & coatings (13-6) | +4.6% |
| Concrete ingredients (13-2) | +4.4% |
| Hardware (10-4) | +4.3% |
| Millwork (08-2) | +4.2% |
| Concrete products (13-3) | +3.7% |
| Hardwood lumber (08-12) | +3.3% |
| Cement (13-22) | -0.7% |
| Bolts, nuts & screws (10-81) | -4% |
Methodology
Every figure is the unadjusted 12-month percent change from BLS PPI Table 2 (July 2026 vintage, published August 13, 2026), transcribed directly from the primary release. Nothing is modeled or smoothed. PPI measures producer-gate prices, not retail shelf prices: what you pay at a store also carries wholesale/retail margins and freight (truck freight itself: +10.9% YoY). Citation welcome: link this page or the BLS table; both should say the same thing. Our retail-sample prices live on the methodology page.