Iron and steel prices are up nearly 10% since last year

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) − Construction material prices ticked up again in August, with iron and steel leading the way, climbing 9.2% over the past year, according to new federal data analyzed by Associated Builders and Contractors.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index shows overall construction input prices rose 0.2% in August compared to July. Nonresidential construction inputs also climbed 0.2%. Year-over-year, input costs for the industry are up 2.3%, while nonresidential costs are up 2.6%.

Anirban Basu, the association's chief economist, said tariffs are driving faster price hikes in key categories. Alongside iron and steel, copper wire and cable prices jumped 13.8% in the past 12 months. Fabricated structural metal products were up 6%.

“Construction materials prices rose modestly in August, although the increase would have been larger if not for declining oil and natural gas prices,” Basu said. “Prices rose at an especially rapid pace in some of the categories most affected by tariffs.”

The trend follows second-term Republican President Donald Trump’s decision earlier this summer to double tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, raising them from 25% to 50%.

“That means no one is going to be able to steal your industry,” Trump said during a May stop in Pittsburgh.

Energy inputs helped temper the monthly increase. Crude petroleum and natural gas both fell 2.8% in August, while unprocessed energy materials slid 2.5%.

Despite those declines, many construction commodities remain far more expensive than before the pandemic. Since February 2020, steel mill product prices have risen 66.1%, switchgear and industrial controls are up 63.2%, and prepared asphalt and roofing materials have climbed nearly 50%.

A chart released with the data highlights the volatility of construction input prices over the past eight years. Monthly price swings spiked sharply during the pandemic years, particularly in 2021–22, when costs surged at some of the fastest rates on record. While volatility has calmed somewhat, the latest uptick shows prices remain stubbornly elevated compared with pre-2020 levels.

Even with costs rising at a 5.3% annualized rate so far in 2025, the Associated Builders and Contractors reports most contractors remain optimistic about profit margins and workloads over the next six months, citing strong demand for projects and backlogs across commercial and industrial sectors.