Construction materials prices saw an across-the-board increase this fall. That increase, notes the Associated General Contractors of America’s Data Digest, that has gone up “faster than bid prices.”
Overall, input prices for nonresidential construction saw a 0.2% increase in September, and a much larger 3.2% jump over September of 2024. This jump in prices comprises the largest increase since January of 2023.
Prices for aluminum mill shapes were particularly on the upside, with an increase of 26% over last fall, while steel mill products saw an equally significant jump of 12%. The price for diesel fuel, meanwhile, was up by 8.2% during that same period.
The increases come after a period of relatively flat prices between late 2022 and this past summer.
The record for the greatest price jumps, however, remains with what was seen between late 2020 and mid-2023, when the prices for such materials as aluminum, steel, and copper saw double-digit increases.
Only with lumber and plywood have the trends moved in a different direction. After a historic 2021 rise of 120%, price increases dropped to around 5% in 2022, before seeing an actual decline of minus 30% in early 2023. The latest numbers show an overall 1.4% increase.
December 8, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
