Construction Input Prices Up 6.6% Year-Over-Year in April

AGC’s April analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price index data shows construction inputs to new nonresidential construction climbed 1.7 percent in a single month and 6.6 percent over the past year. The data covers materials, energy, and key metals. Critically, the PPI for new nonresidential building construction, which reflects what contractors can actually charge, did not keep pace, meaning the margin gap between input costs and billable work is widening.

That spread is the real problem. Input costs at 6.6% annualized while bid prices trail means every project estimated six months ago is already underwater on materials before the first sub mobilizes. The mistake most estimators make right now is treating their historical unit costs as a baseline and adding a modest escalation factor. That math no longer closes. Escalation clauses in subcontracts and owner agreements aren’t optional language anymore, they’re the minimum protection against a cost environment that moved faster in April than most annual budgets anticipated. Check your AGC construction data resources and update your escalation assumptions before the next bid goes out.

Comms Center keeps a complete, searchable record of every sub quote, revision, and clarification tied to a specific bid, so when a sub updates their number two weeks after initial submission, you can see exactly what changed and why. That version history matters when you’re defending a GMP against an owner who remembers the February number. Learn more at commscenter.com.