Prices rose across a host of goods and services used in residential construction. Rising energy prices were the primary driver, but transportation service prices also rose at their fastest pace since 2022. Meanwhile, building material prices, excluding energy, rose at their highest yearly rate in three years, up 3.7% from a year ago.
The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 1.4% in April, after rising 0.7% in March. Compared to a year ago, final demand prices were up 6.0%. The index for final demand services rose 1.2% in April, while the index for final demand goods rose 2.0% over the month.
The price index for inputs to new residential construction rose 1.3% in April and was up 5.9% from last year. The price of goods used in new residential construction was up 1.2% over the month and up 6.1% from last year, while the price of services was up 1.3% over the month and up 3.7% from last year.
Input Goods
The goods component has a larger importance to the inputs to residential construction price index, representing around 60% of the total. On a monthly basis, the price of input goods to new residential construction was up 1.2% in April.
The input goods to residential construction index can be further broken down into two separate components, one measuring energy inputs with the other measuring remaining goods. The latter of these two components simply represents building materials used in residential construction, which makes up around 93% of the goods index.
Energy input prices rose 13.8% in April and were 39.4% higher than a year ago. Building material prices were up 0.1% in April and up 3.7% compared to one year ago. Building material prices have continued to grow above 3.0% since July of last year.
Among input goods, the largest year-over-year increase was for No. 2 diesel fuel as prices were 74.4% higher than a year ago. Asphalt prices rose 18.0% higher than April 2025 after declining in March. Softwood lumber prices were up 1.1% in April after declining on a yearly basis for several months. Fewer materials showed yearly price declines than in March. Particleboard and fiberboard prices were down 12.0%, while softwood veneer/plywood prices were down 1.7%.
Input Services
Prices for service inputs to residential construction reported an increase of 1.3% in April. On a year-over-year basis, service input prices were up 5.6%. The price index for service inputs to residential construction can be broken out into three separate components: a trade services component, a transportation and warehousing services component, and a services excluding trade, transportation, and warehousing component (other services).
The most significant component is trade services (around 60%), followed by other services (around 29%), and finally transportation and warehousing services (around 11%). The largest component, trade services, was up 5.6% from a year ago. The price of transportation and warehousing services rose 15.3%, while prices for other services were up 1.6% over the year. Long-distance motor carrying service prices rose 10.4% in April and were 18.3% higher than a year ago, while local motor carrying service prices rose 1.4% in April and were 6.3% higher than a year ago. These are the two transportation services that are represented as inputs in the residential construction price index.
