Construction Metrics
Notice of price changes, September 2026
Producer pricesConstruction inputsBureau of Labor Statistics
Prices of goods bought by construction rose 2.2% in September, led by a 24% jump in diesel
BLS's index of the goods that construction industries buy reached its highest reading in 25 months, 11.2% above a year earlier. Over the same year, the price of new nonresidential buildings rose 5.4%.
- Goods inputs, change from August
- +2.2%September 2026, preliminary*
- Index, September 2026
- 365.4June 1986 = 100
- From September 2025
- +11.2%Year-over-year change
- No. 2 diesel fuel, from August
- +24.2%Up 115.2% in a year
The index moved less than 1% a month through January 2026, then climbed to 365.4 in September
* September 2026 is preliminary. BLS revised May through August with this release.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on October 15 that its producer price index for goods bought as inputs by construction industries rose 2.2% in September 2026, to 365.4. That follows a revised 1.1% gain in August and leaves the index 11.2% above September 2025.
A producer price index, or PPI, measures the prices domestic producers receive for what they sell, and this one covers the goods that contractors and other construction industries buy. It is not seasonally adjusted, and the September figure is preliminary. September is the highest reading of the last 25 months and sits 6.4% above the 12-month average of 343.5.
From February 2025 through January 2026 the index moved less than 1% in either direction each month. The climb started in February 2026, and the year-over-year change has gone from 2.4% in January to 11.2% now.
Year-over-year change went from 2.4% in January to 11.2% in September
| Month | Index (June 1986 = 100) | Change from prior month | Change from a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | 328.499 | +0.1% | +3.3% |
| October 2025 | 327.561 | −0.3% | +2.6% |
| November 2025 | 329.167 | +0.5% | +3.4% |
| December 2025 | 327.165 | −0.6% | +2.9% |
| January 2026 | 329.779 | +0.8% | +2.4% |
| February 2026 | 334.279 | +1.4% | +3.2% |
| March 2026 | 341.994 | +2.3% | +5.1% |
| April 2026 | 347.442 | +1.6% | +7.0% |
| May 2026 | 355.564 | +2.3% | +9.1% |
| June 2026 | 352.127 | −1.0% | +7.8% |
| July 2026 | 353.505 | +0.4% | +7.8% |
| August 2026 | 357.508 | +1.1% | +8.9% |
| September 2026* | 365.374 | +2.2% | +11.2% |
What moved
Energy bought by nonresidential builders rose 14.5% in September
Most of the September increase came from energy. BLS's index of energy bought by nonresidential construction rose 14.5% in the month and stands 70.1% above a year ago. The diesel index rose 24.2% from August and has more than doubled over 12 months, up 115.2%. Strip out food and energy and the nonresidential goods index rose 0.6% for the month and 5.9% for the year.
Energy rose 70.1% in a year, goods less food and energy 5.9%
| Index | August 2026 | September 2026 | Change from prior month | Change from a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goods inputs to all construction | 357.5 | 365.4 | +2.2% | +11.2% |
| Goods inputs to residential construction | 348.9 | 355.2 | +1.8% | +9.7% |
| Goods inputs to nonresidential construction | 180.7 | 184.9 | +2.3% | +11.2% |
| Nonresidential: energy | 184.6 | 211.3 | +14.5% | +70.1% |
| Nonresidential: goods less foods and energy | 168.3 | 169.3 | +0.6% | +5.9% |
| Nonresidential: services | 171.8 | 174.4 | +1.5% | +14.0% |
The economy-wide release shows the same pattern. BLS said final demand prices rose 1.3% in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, the largest monthly increase since March 2022, and that final demand energy jumped 10.8%. Within processed goods sold to businesses, BLS traced nearly half of the September rise to a 21.0% increase in diesel fuel, and it named fabricated structural metal products among the indexes that moved higher.
The 21.0% and the 24.2% describe the same fuel. BLS seasonally adjusts the release figures, while the series used here are unadjusted.
Residential work saw a smaller increase. Goods inputs to residential construction rose 1.8% for the month and 9.7% for the year, compared with 2.3% and 11.2% on the nonresidential side. The services that nonresidential builders buy rose 1.5% in September and 14.0% over the year.
Materials and fuel
Diesel more than doubled in a year, and steel mill products rose 27.6%
Metals rose again. Steel mill products gained 2.2% in September and are 27.6% above a year earlier. Structural, architectural and pre-engineered metal products rose 1.7% for the month and 7.4% for the year. Lumber fell 1.4%, its second straight monthly decline, though it remains 8.7% above September 2025. Ready-mix concrete was flat and is up 2.3% over the year.
Diesel rose 24.2% in September, and lumber fell 1.4%
| Material and BLS series | September 2026 index | Change from prior month | Change from a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 2 diesel fuel WPU057303 | 675.6 | +24.2% | +115.2% |
| Steel mill products WPU1017 | 388.6 | +2.2% | +27.6% |
| Structural, architectural and pre-engineered metal products WPU1074 | 394.2 | +1.7% | +7.4% |
| Lumber WPU081 | 282.3 | −1.4% | +8.7% |
| Ready-mix concrete WPU1333 | 395.3 | 0.0% | +2.3% |
Costs and prices
Since September 2024, input goods rose 15.2% and nonresidential buildings 6.1%
So input costs are rising faster than the prices contractors charge. BLS also publishes price indexes for new nonresidential building construction, which track what builders receive for the finished work. That index was 186.2 in September, essentially unchanged from August and 5.4% above a year earlier.
Rebase both series to September 2024 and the goods that go into nonresidential buildings are up 15.2% over two years, while the price of the buildings is up 6.1%.
Input costs have risen more than twice as fast as nonresidential building prices since 2024
By trade, the building price indexes rose between 3.9% and 5.8% over the year. Electrical contractors were highest and roofing contractors lowest.
Electrical contractors' prices rose 5.8% in a year, roofing contractors' 3.9%
| Contractor type | September 2025 | September 2026 | Change from a year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|
| All nonresidential building contractors | 163.7 | 172.5 | +5.4% |
| Electrical contractors | 179.8 | 190.2 | +5.8% |
| General contractors | 162.0 | 170.7 | +5.4% |
| Concrete contractors | 175.9 | 184.9 | +5.1% |
| Plumbing, heating and air conditioning contractors | 147.5 | 153.4 | +4.0% |
| Roofing contractors | 191.5 | 199.1 | +3.9% |
Nearly all of the movement in these building price indexes over the past 25 months appears in January, April, July and October. The other months change by a fraction of a percent, so a flat September is the usual pattern for this series.
How to use this number
Jobs priced before February 2026 carry the most exposure
The first use is escalation on jobs you priced a year ago. BLS's technical note says unadjusted indexes are the ones generally cited when contracts escalate, which is why the indexes in this post's tables are unadjusted. Pick the index that matches the material you are buying, since the aggregate mixes fuel, metals, wood and concrete that moved in different directions in September. A sitework estimate with a large fuel line has a different exposure from a drywall package. The site's post on tying an escalation clause to a BLS index walks through the clause wording and the arithmetic.
The second use is a margin check on fixed-price work. Run it on the jobs in your work-in-progress schedule that still have material to buy:
- Pull unit costs for material and fuel on purchase orders issued in the last quarter.
- Compare each with the unit cost in the estimate, and note the month the estimate was priced.
- Set the percentage change beside the BLS index for that material over the same months.
Buyout costs track
11.2%
Goods inputs to construction, from September 2025
Contract values track
5.4%
New nonresidential building prices, from September 2025
If your buyout costs track the 11.2% input figure and your contract values track the 5.4% building price figure, expect projected gross profit on those jobs to fall when you next update cost to complete. Jobs priced before February 2026 carry the most exposure. The goods index has risen 10.8% since January.
Revisions and caveats
BLS revised May through August, and trimmed August's gain to 1.1%
September's figures are preliminary. BLS revises every PPI for up to four months after first publication to pick up late reports and corrections, and this release revised May through August. August's goods index moved from 357.475 in the September 10 vintage to 357.508, which trims August's monthly gain from 1.2% to 1.1%. May moved up from 355.363 to 355.564.
| Month | September 10 vintage | October 15 release |
|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | 355.363 | 355.564 |
| August 2026 | 357.475 | 357.508 |
BLS collects these prices for the Tuesday of the week containing the 13th of the month. A price change after that date in September will appear in October's figures, due from BLS on November 13, 2026.
The indexes come from a probability sample of establishments that report voluntarily, and BLS publishes indexes rather than prices. The output side is thinner than the input side. As of January 2023, BLS says, the PPI covered 17% of construction, so the building price indexes describe a subset of contractors and building types (warehouses, schools, offices, health care and industrial buildings among them).
Figures from the BLS Producer Price Index news release of October 15, 2026, and BLS series published on FRED. Every index on this page is not seasonally adjusted unless the text says otherwise.