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Conshy Contractor

Letter on remodeling materials, August 2026

Remodeling prices

Prices of goods for home repair and remodeling hit a record in August 2026, with steel up 23.4%

The Bureau of Labor Statistics index of goods used in home repair and remodeling reached 336.7 in August 2026, the highest value in a series that starts in 1986. The materials behind it rose by different amounts.

Repair and remodeling index, August 2026
336.7June 1986 = 100, preliminary
From August 2025
+7.7%
Steel mill products
+23.4%
Gypsum products
+0.2%

Over the year to August 2026, steel mill products rose 23.4% and gypsum products 0.2%*

Percent change in producer price indexes from August 2025 to August 2026, not seasonally adjusted. The repair and remodeling index is in navy, the five materials in green.

0%5%10%15%20%25%Steel mill products+23.4%Plywood+10.7%Repair and remodeling index+7.7%Lumber+7.6%Ready-mix concrete+2.3%Gypsum products+0.2% 0%5%10%15%20%25%Steel+23.4%Plywood+10.7%Repair and remodeling index+7.7%Lumber+7.6%Concrete+2.3%Gypsum+0.2%
  1. * Preliminary for May through August 2026, which BLS can still revise.
  2. 1 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Producer Price Index, via FRED.

Producer prices for the goods that go into home repair and remodeling reached a record in August 2026. The Bureau of Labor Statistics index of net inputs to residential maintenance and repair, goods, rose to 336.7, the highest value in a series that starts in 1986. It was up 1.1% from July and 7.7% from August 2025. The materials behind it rose by different amounts. Over the same year, the index for steel mill products rose 23.4% and plywood 10.7%, while gypsum products rose 0.2%. The August values are preliminary.

The index measures the prices that U.S. producers receive for the goods home repair and remodeling consume, weighted by how much of each the industry buys. BLS says its input indexes leave out labor and capital investment, so the index follows material prices only.

The repair and remodeling index reached 336.7, its highest value since 1986

Both residential input indexes set records in August 2026*

Producer Price Index, net inputs to residential maintenance and repair, goods (navy), and to residential construction, goods (gray), index June 1986 = 100, not seasonally adjusted, monthly since January 2019.

20024028032036020192020202120222023202420252026June 2022 high314.4New residentialconstruction 349.0Repair and remodeling336.7 2002402803203602019202120232025June 2022 high, 314.4Construction349.0Repair336.7
  1. * Preliminary for May through August 2026, which BLS can still revise.
  2. 1 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED, series WPUIP2321001 and WPUIP2311001.

The index for goods used in new residential construction set a record in the same month, at 349.0, up 7.8% on the year.

Steel mill products rose 23.4% in a year and gypsum products 0.2%

This article follows five building materials that BLS prices in its commodity indexes: steel mill products, plywood, lumber, ready-mix concrete and gypsum products. Over the year to August 2026, steel mill products rose the most, from 308.8 to 381.2. Plywood was up 10.7% and lumber 7.6%. Ready-mix concrete rose 2.3%, and gypsum products 0.2%.

Most of the rise came in 2026. From December 2025 to August 2026, the repair and remodeling index rose 8.1%, steel mill products 22.0%, plywood 11.4% and lumber 10.6%. The index rose in seven of the first eight months of the year, and its largest monthly gain was 2.1% in May. Its change on the year rose from 1.6% in January to 7.7% in August.

Steel rose for nine months in a row and plywood for ten

Steel mill products rose in every month from December 2025 through August 2026, nine months in a row. The steel index jumped 7.2% in December, and its largest gain in 2026 was 4.1% in July. Plywood rose for ten months in a row, from November 2025 through August 2026, by between 0.1% and 2.8% a month.

Steel jumped 7.2% in December 2025 and rose every month through August 2026*

Percent change on the month in each producer price index, November 2025 to August 2026, not seasonally adjusted. Every row uses the same scale; bars above the line are increases.

Nov2025DecJan2026FebMarAprMayJunJulAugRepair and remodeling index+2.1−0.9Steel mill products+7.2+4.1Plywood+2.8Lumber+3.8−1.5Ready-mix concreteGypsum products−1.1 N2025DJ2026FMAMJJARepair index+2.1−0.9Steel+7.2+4.1Plywood+2.8Lumber+3.8−1.5ConcreteGypsum−1.1
  1. * Preliminary for May through August 2026, which BLS can still revise.
  2. 1 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED. Monthly changes computed by Conshy Contractor; the full table is in monthly2026.csv.

Lumber moved in both directions. It rose 3.5% in April and 3.8% in July, and fell 1.5% in August. Ready-mix concrete and gypsum products changed by 1.0% or less in every month of 2026, apart from a 1.1% drop in gypsum products in May. The repair and remodeling index itself fell once in 2026, by 0.9% in June.

Since January 2019, the index rose 52.1% and steel 72.6%

Rebasing sets each series to 100 in the same starting month, so series with different base years can be compared on one scale. With January 2019 = 100, the repair and remodeling index stood at 152.1 in August 2026, a rise of 52.1%. It had reached an earlier high of 314.4 in June 2022, and August 2026 was 7.1% above that level.

Of five materials, only steel rose more than the repair index since January 2019*

Producer price indexes rebased so that January 2019 = 100, not seasonally adjusted, monthly through August 2026. Each panel shows one series against the repair and remodeling index in faint navy, on the same scale. The solid line marks 100.

Repair and remodeling index100150200201920222026152.1+52.1%Steel mill products100150200201920222026172.6+72.6%Gypsum products100150200201920222026147.1+47.1%Ready-mix concrete100150200201920222026145.0+45.0%Plywood100150200201920222026141.6+41.6%Lumber100150200201920222026136.5+36.5% Repair index100150200201920222026152.1+52.1%Steel100150200201920222026172.6+72.6%Gypsum100150200201920222026147.1+47.1%Concrete100150200201920222026145.0+45.0%Plywood100150200201920222026141.6+41.6%Lumber100150200201920222026136.5+36.5%
  1. * Preliminary for May through August 2026, which BLS can still revise.
  2. 1 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED. Rebasing computed by Conshy Contractor; values in rebased.csv.

Of the five materials, only steel mill products rose more, by 72.6%. Gypsum products rose 47.1%, ready-mix concrete 45.0%, plywood 41.6% and lumber 36.5%.

Lumber stood 38.0% below its May 2021 peak

Wood and steel prices set their highs in 2021. Lumber peaked at 462.0 in May 2021 and in August 2026 stood 38.0% below that level. Plywood peaked at 471.3 in June 2021 and stood 36.3% below it. Steel mill products peaked at 449.7 in December 2021 and stood 15.2% below.

Wood and steel were well below their 2021 highs while the index set a record*

Each series in August 2026 (filled dot) and at its highest value since January 2019 (open ring), on the January 2019 = 100 scale. Not seasonally adjusted.

100125150175200225LumberMay 2021 high−38.0% from highPlywoodJun 2021 high−36.3% from highSteel mill productsDec 2021 high−15.2% from highGypsum products−0.5% from highReady-mix concrete−0.2% from highRepair and remodeling indexat its high 100150200Lumber−38.0% from highMay 2021 highPlywood−36.3% from highJun 2021 highSteel−15.2% from highDec 2021 highGypsum−0.5% from highConcrete−0.2% from highRepair and remodeling indexat its high
  1. * Preliminary for May through August 2026, which BLS can still revise.
  2. 1 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED. Highs and gaps computed by Conshy Contractor; values in components.csv.

The slower-moving materials sit near their highs. Gypsum products reached 487.4 in March 2025 and were 0.5% below that in August 2026. Ready-mix concrete set its high in June 2026, at 396.0, and was 0.2% below it in August.

Gypsum products and ready-mix concrete were higher at the end of 2025 than in mid-2022, while lumber, plywood and steel stayed well below their 2021 peaks before rising again in 2026. That is this site's reading of the published series. The article does not use the weights BLS gives each material, so it cannot say how much any one of them added to the index.

What this means for a remodeling quote

A remodeling quote covers labor, overhead and scope as well as materials, as the guide to what remodeling costs explains. The materials line is the part these indexes follow.

  1. Ask how long the quote's price holds, and for the main materials as separate lines. A price written in December 2025 and signed in August 2026 covers a span when this index rose 8.1%.

  2. Under Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, a contractor cannot depart from the plans or specifications in any material way without a written change order, dated and signed by both of you, that states the price change. The change orders guide covers how to write one.

  3. If a contract adjusts the price with a published index, the BLS guide to price adjustment advises naming the index and the base and comparison months, and fixing the date the calculation is made, since recent months are revised.

The index and five materials, August 2026

Producer price indexes, published levels, not seasonally adjusted. August 2026 is preliminary.

Six producer price indexes
SeriesAug 2025Aug 2026On the yearBarSince Jan 2019From high
Steel mill products WPU1017308.8381.2+23.4%+72.6%−15.2%
Plywood WPU083271.1300.1+10.7%+41.6%−36.3%
Repair and remodeling index WPUIP2321001312.5336.7+7.7%+52.1%at high
Lumber WPU081266.3286.6+7.6%+36.5%−38.0%
Ready-mix concrete WPU1333386.4395.2+2.3%+45.0%−0.2%
Gypsum products WPU137484.0484.8+0.2%+47.1%−0.5%

Download the data: summary (CSV), monthly levels since 2019 (CSV), rebased series (CSV), monthly changes (CSV), the two residential input indexes (CSV) and the last 13 months (CSV).

Caveats

These are national producer prices. They do not measure what a contractor pays a supplier or what you pay for finished work, and they have no breakdown for southeastern Pennsylvania.

The index covers goods only. Labor is outside it.

The indexes are not seasonally adjusted, so some month-to-month movement is seasonal. The changes on the year compare the same month.

Producer price data are revised. The BLS guide says not seasonally adjusted data are subject to revision for up to four months after first publication, so May through August 2026 can still change. The next release, with September data, is scheduled for October 15, 2026.

The five materials were chosen by this site from the commodity indexes BLS publishes. They are not the full list of goods in the index.