JusTheToolPRECISION CALCULATORS

Construction Material Cost Index

Data through July 2026. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index. Rebuilt monthly.

Construction materials overall are up 10.5% over the past 12 months and up 19.3% over five years. The steepest 12-month rise is steel mill products at +22.5%; the weakest is cement, hydraulic at -0.7%. Of the 15 material categories tracked here, 13 rose and 2 fell or held flat year over year.

Construction materials index, 2017–2026

20024529033538020182020202220242026

Price change by material

MaterialIndex1 mo12 mo5 yr10-yr trendCalculator
Construction materials (all) index 374.0 +1.4% +10.5% +19.3%
Inputs to residential construction index 344.9 +0.1% +6.7% +25.6%
Ready-mix concrete 394.5 -0.4% +2.2% +33.3% Concrete Calculator
Cement, hydraulic 357.5 -0.1% -0.7% +31.1% Bags of Concrete per Yard
Sand, gravel & crushed stone 561.7 +0.2% +6.2% +47.5% Gravel Calculator
Concrete block & brick 409.0 0.0% +3.7% +40.5% Block Calculator
Clay construction products 240.4 -0.1% +0.9% +20.8% Brick Calculator
Softwood lumber 300.6 +6.4% +15.0% -18.7% Deck Calculator
Plywood 295.2 +0.7% +9.2% -31.0% Sheathing Calculator
Rebar & bar joists 366.7 +0.2% +17.7% +19.9% Rebar Calculator
Steel mill products 374.2 +3.9% +22.5% -1.6% Metal Roof Calculator
Asphalt roofing & siding 372.3 +1.3% +3.6% +33.5% Roof Calculator
Gypsum products 481.6 +0.9% -0.4% +24.2% Drywall Calculator
Insulation materials 287.7 -0.5% +0.8% +32.7% Insulation Calculator
Prepared paint 448.3 0.0% +6.2% +34.6% Paint Calculator
Floor coverings 223.5 +0.7% +4.1% +10.6% Flooring Calculator
Plastic construction products 356.3 +0.4% +5.0% +21.1% Composite vs Wood Decking

Red indicates rising prices, green falling. Index values are PPI levels, not dollars — compare the percentage columns, not the raw numbers.

What the numbers say this month

Steel mill products lead the 12-month table at +22.5%. Over five years the picture differs: steel mill products are -1.6%, which tells you whether a rise is a recent move or part of a longer climb.

The gap between the 12-month and 5-year columns is the most useful thing on this page. A material can be up sharply this year and still sit below where it was five years ago — that is what a post-spike correction looks like, and it is common in wood products. The reverse, modest annual moves stacked on a large five-year gain, describes a slow structural rise, which is the pattern in aggregates and cement.

Methodology and sources

Every figure comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index, retrieved through the public BLS API. Series are not seasonally adjusted. Percentage changes compare the latest month against the same month one and five years earlier, which removes seasonal effects without smoothing the data.

PPI measures prices received by domestic producers. It is not a retail price and it is not a bid price for installed work — it excludes labour, distribution margin and local delivery. Treat it as a directional signal for material budgets.

The exact series behind each row, so any figure here can be checked against BLS directly:

WPUSI012011Construction materials
WPUIP2311001Inputs to residential construction, goods
WPU1333Ready-mix concrete
WPU1322Cement, hydraulic
WPU1321Construction sand, gravel and crushed stone
WPU1331Concrete block and brick
WPU134Clay construction products ex. refractories
WPU0811Softwood lumber
WPU083Plywood
WPU1074051Fabricated structural metal bar joists and concrete reinforcing bars
WPU1017Steel mill products
WPU1361Prepared asphalt and tar roofing and siding products
WPU137Gypsum products
WPU1392Insulation materials
WPU0621Prepared paint
WPU123Floor coverings
WPU0721Plastic construction products

BLS data is a work of the U.S. federal government and is in the public domain. This page is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Frequently asked questions

What is the construction material cost index?

It tracks what producers charge for construction materials, using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index. This page reads 17 PPI series covering concrete, lumber, steel, roofing, drywall, insulation, paint and flooring, and shows how each has moved over one month, one year and five years. Data is current through July 2026.

Are these retail prices?

No. The PPI measures prices received by domestic producers — roughly the wholesale level. Retail shelf prices at a home improvement store move in the same direction but not by the same amount, because they also carry distribution, retail margin and local delivery costs. Use the index for direction and rate of change, not for what you will pay at the register.

What does an index value like 374 mean?

PPI values are relative to a base period, not dollars. A reading of 374 means prices are 3.74 times the base-period level. The useful figures are the percentage changes, which is why this page leads with them.

How often is this updated?

BLS publishes PPI data monthly, usually in the middle of the following month. This page is rebuilt from the BLS API each time new data lands, so the "as of" date above always reflects the latest release.

Can I cite or reuse this data?

Yes. The underlying data is produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and is in the public domain. The exact series IDs are listed in the methodology section so you can verify any figure directly against BLS. A citation back to this page is appreciated but not required.