Little Change for Construction Materials Prices in August
Construction materials prices were unchanged in August but are 1.7% higher than this time last year, according to a Sept. 16 producer price index (PPI) release by the U.S. Dept. of Labor. Inputs to nonresidential construction, which also remained unchanged in August, are 1% higher than in August of 2013.
“In general, nonresidential construction remains stable, despite the recent uptick in demand for inputs in North America,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “There are a number of factors at work, including an unexpectedly weak European economy and a surprisingly strong U.S. dollar. While the Euro has been falling in value, the dollar has been rising throughout much of the year against other major currencies including the Japanese Yen and British Pound. One implication of this has been an increase in the purchasing power of the dollar, which suppresses input price increases.”