Key Building Materials Remain Stubbornly Expensive

Inflation in prices received for building materials (prior to sales to consumers) was mixed in September according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although their monthly changes were relatively modest, the prices of OSB and ready-mix concrete have been trending upward for quite some time and remain at historically high levels.

OSB prices climbed 2.5 percent in September, continuing a seven-month trend that has the commodity at its highest price since June 2013. Since February, monthly increases have averaged 3.2 percent, pushing prices up by a cumulative, eye-popping 25 percent.

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