ABC: Tariffs drive construction materials prices up 2.8% in 2025
Despite a slight decline in December, the prices of key construction materials prices are still escalating – and up significantly from six years ago.
Overall construction input (includes energy, materials and equipment) prices are 2.8% higher than a year ago, while commercial construction input prices are 4.4% higher, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released on Jan. 30. Compared to February 2020, commercial construction input prices are 46.1% higher.
Construction input prices inched down 0.6% in December compared to the previous month; commercial construction prices were down 0.3%. Prices increased in two of three energy categories month over month. Natural gas and unprocessed energy materials prices were up 34.8% and 5.5%, respectively, while crude petroleum prices were down 2.7% in December.
"Construction materials prices posted a welcome decline in December, yet key inputs are still experiencing rapid escalation,” said ABC chief economist Anirban Basu. “This is especially true for materials most exposed to tariffs. Copper wire and cable prices, for instance, jumped an incredible 4.6% in December and are up more than 22% year over year, and prices for primary nonferrous metals are up nearly 62% over the past 12 months.”
Prices for commodities less exposed to tariffs, such as asphalt or crushed stone, will likely remain tame in the coming months due to soft demand for construction services, according to Basu.
“While that may limit increases in overall materials prices, trade policy will continue to put upward pressure on certain materials,” he added. "This has not significantly dimmed contractor optimism: Seven in 10 ABC members expect their profit margins to remain stable or grow over the next two quarters."
Associated Builders and Contractors is a national construction industry trade association established in 1950 with 67 chapters and more than 23,000 members.
