Materials Prices Again Increase While Glass Prices See Slight Drop, According to Latest Report
May 11, 2012

The cost of construction materials rose 0.1 percent in April, according to the monthly Producer Price Index report issued today by the U.S. Labor Department. The unadjusted percent change in flat glass prices from March to April, however, was down 0.1 percent.

This is the first decrease in several months for flat glass, which rose in price by 0.3 percent from February to March, and 0.2 percent from January to February.

The import price for glass and glassware went down 0.2 percent from March to April, but was up 2.9 percent over April 2011, according to the April Import and Export Price Indexes. The export price for the same dropped 0.4 percent from March to April, and was down 0.9 percent from April 2011.

Glass and glassware includes float glass, safety glass, lab glass and a range of other glass products, according to information from the International Price Program office in Washington, D.C.

"Recent news pertaining to the U.S. nonresidential construction industry has been somehat disheartening of late," says Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) chief economist Anirban Basu in an analysis of today's report. "Still, at the very least, contractors have been enjoying the benefits of stable materials prices."