Monthly US construction materials price fall in December

Graph courtesy Associated Builders and Contractors

The US-based Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) – a trade organisation representing more than 23,000 construction firms and contractors – said dropping energy prices are helping lower inputs.

ABC chief economist Anirban Basu said, “Much of the recent moderation can be tracked to lower energy prices; diesel prices, for instance, are down roughly US$0.45/gallon since December 2023.”

Overall, construction input prices are 0.9% higher than a year ago, while non-residential construction input prices are 0.6% higher. Prices increased in all three energy subcategories last month, ABC said in its analysis.

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Natural gas prices were up 57.7%, while unprocessed energy material prices increased 10.0%. Crude petroleum prices rose by 0.5%.

Basu added, “Prices for other inputs, like copper wire and cable or sand and gravel products, have escalated significantly over the past year.”

Despite some sizeable input increases, ABC said contractor confidence remains high.

“The fact that overall input prices have remained flat in recent quarters is purely good news,” remarked Basu. “Just 20% of contractors expect their profit margins to decline over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index.”

Table courtesy Associated Builders and Contractors

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