Construction Materials Prices Up in May, Down For the Year
Prices for inputs to construction industries expanded by 1.1% in May, the largest month-over-month increase in more than two years, and only the third time in the past 10 months that construction input prices have grown on a monthly basis.
Year-over-year prices fell by 3% in May and have now fallen by more than 3% in each of the year’s first five months. The last time this occurred was the third and fourth quarter of 2009. Only three of the 11 key construction inputs—nonferrous wire and cable, crude petroleum and crude energy materials—experienced monthly price increases in May.