Continued Cost Increases Threaten to Sink Some Firms

Huge jumps in prices for diesel fuel and copper - two key inputs to construction - pinched contractors in November as weak demand for construction forced them to hold down bid prices despite the cost increases, AGC said today in an analysis of November producer price index figures. Prices for materials used in construction climbed 0.5 percent in November and 4.8 percent over the past 12 months, while price indexes for finished buildings remained flat over both time periods. The PPI for finished goods went up 0.4 percent for the month and 3.5 percent year-over-year. Read the press release here. View the PPI tables here.