Construction material prices climbed 0.5% in March and are up 0.8% on a year-over-year basis, according to Associated Builders and Contractors. Prices in March were 41.6% higher than in February 2020.
Nonresidential construction material prices rose 0.6% from February to March and increased 0.8% compared with one year ago. Softwood lumber prices are up 12.6% year over year and 4.7% from February to March. Iron and steel prices are down 2.5% year over year and up 5.5% for the month. Natural gas rose 10.4% from February to March and is up 147.6% year over year. Crude petroleum fell 8.2% for the month and is down 12% year over year.
“Construction input prices increased at a rapid pace for the third consecutive month in March and have now risen at a 9.7% annualized rate through the first quarter of 2025,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “The emerging effects of tariffs are glaring in the March data release, with iron and steel, steel mill products, and copper wire and cable prices all rising more than 5% for the month. While contractors remain busy for the time being, according to ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator, this pace of input price escalation, coupled with rising uncertainty, will cause projects to be delayed and canceled if it persists for any meaningful length of time.”
