Construction materials prices drop

Construction input prices fell for the fifth consecutive month in November, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index.

Prices for input materials – aka raw materials – edged down 0.4 percent for the month, bringing the year-over-year average down 4.2 percent, according to an ABC news release. Commercial construction prices were similar, dropping 0.5 percent in November and 4.6 percent from last year.

“There are many factors at work, all helping to push commodity prices lower,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu, in the release. “These factors include a stronger U.S. dollar, weak economic performance among major emerging countries like China, Brazil and Russia, ongoing softness in economies in Europe, OPEC’s recent decision to maintain high levels of output, elevated levels of oil and gas output from private companies wrestling with debt service payments and the impact of energy-saving technologies.”

Three of 11 key input prices decreased for the month:
• Natural gas prices plunged 15.4 percent;
• Crude petroleum prices fell 10.4 percent; and
• Crude energy materials prices slipped 9.2 percent.

Four key input items on the rise are softwood lumber, asphalt and tar roofing, plumbing fixtures and fittings, and concrete.