Short answer: Between February 2020 and June 2026, the prices contractors pay for construction inputs rose about 50%, compared with about 32.5% for producer prices across the whole economy. The increase was not steady. It came in a 2021–2022 surge, a pause in 2023–2024, and a renewed climb driven partly by metal tariffs in 2025 and 2026. Labor stayed tight throughout. For estimators, the practical change is that a price is only as good as its date: quotes now need shorter validity periods, clear escalation terms, and trade-by-trade attention to steel, copper and aluminum.
This guide compares 2020 with 2026 using published government data. It explains what each change means for a bid, and ends with a checklist you can use on your next estimate.
Key numbers at a glance
The table below uses the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Producer Price Index (PPI), as republished in the Associated General Contractors of America’s July 2026 PPI tables. The PPI measures prices received by producers, so it tracks what contractors pay suppliers. It does not track bid prices or labor rates.
| Price index (BLS PPI) | Change, Feb 2020 to Jun 2026 |
|---|---|
| Inputs to construction industries | +50.0% |
| Final demand (whole economy, for comparison) | +32.5% |
| Copper and brass mill shapes | +107.6% |
| Aluminum mill shapes | +106.4% |
| Steel mill products | +99.7% |
| Plastic construction products | +55.7% |
| Gypsum building materials | +51.8% |
| Ready-mixed concrete | +38.8% |
| Lumber and plywood | +38.1% |
Source: AGC PPI tables (July 2026), based on BLS PPI data. Figures are not seasonally adjusted. Your local supplier prices will differ.
How construction costs moved year by year
The cumulative figure hides a very uneven path. These are the calendar-year changes AGC published for the BLS index of inputs to construction industries (series WPUIP230000):
| Year | Inputs to construction industries |
|---|---|
| 2021 | +18.7% |
| 2022 | +14.5% |
| 2023 | −1.6% |
| 2024 | +0.9% |
| 2025 | +2.1% |
What this means: most of the increase happened in 2021 and 2022. A unit-cost database or historical bid that was last updated in 2020 now understates many material costs by a wide margin. Treat any cost data older than about 12 months as needing a check before it goes into a bid.
Lumber shows how volatile single materials can be. Lumber and plywood prices rose 41.1% in 2021, then fell 23.1% in 2023. A framing estimate priced at the wrong moment in that cycle could have been badly off in either direction.
What changed between 2020 and 2026
1. Metal prices became a tariff question, not just a market question
Metals moved most. Copper, aluminum and steel products roughly doubled in price index terms between February 2020 and June 2026. Trade policy is a large part of the story:
- June 4, 2025: Section 232 tariffs on imported steel and aluminum rose from 25% to 50% (White House fact sheet).
- August 1, 2025: a 50% tariff took effect on imports of semi-finished copper products, such as pipes, wire, rods and tubes, and on copper-intensive derivatives such as fittings, cables and connectors (White House fact sheet).
- April 6, 2026: a new proclamation restructured the steel, aluminum and copper tariffs. Duties now apply to the full customs value of covered articles rather than only their metal content, and rates vary by product category (EY summary).
What this means for estimates: trades with heavy metal content are the most exposed. That includes structural steel, metal deck, copper piping, electrical wire and cable, ductwork, and switchgear. Tariff rules changed several times in 12 months, so get a dated supplier quote for major metal items instead of relying on a unit-cost book. Contractors interviewed by Construction Dive noted that the effect varies widely by material and by how much metal a product contains.
2. Labor stayed tight, with a different cause
Labor costs are not in the material price indexes above, but they matter just as much. Associated Builders and Contractors estimates that the construction industry needs to attract about 349,000 net new workers in 2026 just to balance supply and demand. Its earlier models estimated 546,000 for 2023, 501,000 for 2024 and 439,000 for 2025 (ABC, January 2026). ABC says most of the 2026 need comes from retirements rather than new demand.
What this means for estimates: labor productivity and crew availability carry more risk than they did in 2020. When a schedule is tight, price realistic production rates, and consider overtime or premium time instead of assuming ideal crew sizes.
3. Estimates now need dates and escalation terms
Before 2021, long quote validity periods carried relatively little risk. After the 2021–2022 price surge and the 2025–2026 tariff changes, holding a price for months became expensive. Practices that help on today’s bids include:
- Dated pricing. State the date and source of material prices on the estimate itself.
- Shorter quote validity for volatile materials, especially metals and lumber.
- Escalation or price-adjustment clauses, where the contract allows them, for items with long lead times.
- Alternates and allowances for items whose price cannot be fixed at bid time.
4. Takeoff became digital by default
Remote work in 2020 pushed more bid documents online, and digital takeoff from PDF and CAD drawings is now the usual way to measure quantities. That has made it easier to outsource takeoffs across state lines. It also means estimates can be revised quickly when addenda or price changes arrive. Software does not remove the need for review: a quantity measured from the wrong sheet revision is still wrong.
What the changes mean by trade
| Trade | Main 2020–2026 cost driver | What to check in a 2026 bid |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanical and HVAC | Sheet metal, copper refrigerant piping, equipment lead times | Dated duct and equipment quotes, copper pricing |
| Electrical | Copper wire and cable, switchgear and transformers | Current wire pricing, gear lead times |
| Plumbing | Copper and plastic pipe, fixtures | Pipe material assumptions, supplier quote dates |
| Structural steel and metals | Steel tariffs and mill prices | Tonnage, quote validity, escalation terms |
| Concrete | Ready-mix and rebar prices | Rebar tonnage pricing, local ready-mix quotes |
| Drywall and framing | Gypsum board, metal studs | Board and stud pricing by partition type |
| Rough carpentry and lumber | Lumber volatility | Lumber list priced at current yard rates |
Checklist: pricing a bid in 2026
- Date every material price in the estimate and record its source.
- Re-check any unit costs older than 12 months, especially for metals, lumber and gypsum.
- Get written quotes for metal-heavy items and note how long each quote is valid.
- Read the contract’s escalation terms before bidding long-lead items.
- Use realistic labor production rates for your region and crew availability.
- Carry alternates or allowances where prices can’t be fixed at bid time, and say so clearly in your clarifications.
- Review quantities against the latest addenda before submitting.
Frequently asked questions
How much have construction costs increased since 2020?
According to BLS producer price data published by AGC, prices for inputs to construction industries rose about 50% from February 2020 to June 2026. The increase for any single project depends on its materials, its location and labor. Metal-heavy work has seen larger increases than the average.
Why did construction costs rise so much in 2021 and 2022?
The index of construction input prices rose 18.7% in 2021 and 14.5% in 2022, according to AGC’s tables of BLS data. That was the steepest period of the 2020–2026 increase. Prices then eased slightly in 2023 (−1.6%) before rising again.
How do steel, aluminum and copper tariffs affect construction estimates?
They raise the cost of imported metal products and make prices less predictable. Steel and aluminum tariffs rose to 50% in June 2025. Copper product tariffs of 50% started in August 2025, and the rules were restructured again in April 2026. Estimators should use dated supplier quotes for metal-heavy items and agree escalation terms where possible.
Should I still use cost data from 2020 for a 2026 estimate?
Not without adjustment. Construction input prices are about 50% higher on average than in early 2020, and much higher for metals. Use current supplier quotes, or cost data updated within the last year.
Related reading
- How much does a construction estimate cost?
- Outsourced vs in-house construction estimating: cost guide
Sources
- Associated General Contractors of America, PPI tables, July 2026 (based on BLS Producer Price Index data; series WPUIP230000 and others listed above)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Producer Price Indexes
- The White House, Fact sheet on Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs (June 3, 2025)
- The White House, Fact sheet on copper imports (July 30, 2025)
- EY, Summary of the April 2026 Section 232 proclamation
- Associated Builders and Contractors, 2026 workforce shortage estimate (January 15, 2026)
Need current numbers for a bid? Our estimators prepare trade-by-trade construction estimates priced from your drawings. You can review sample estimates or request a free quote.
