Markets · material prices through August 2026

Benchmark prices

Actual dollars, month over month. Units differ by commodity.

Softwood lumber

Soft sawnwood, average of softwoods. U.S. dollars per metric ton.

Browse lumber listings

Price

$301.5/t

Unchanged

12 months

-10.70%

Jul 2026 · $301.5/t-2.5% over 2Y

$355.0$277.0

Jul 2024Jul 2025Jul 2026

Hardwood

Hard sawnwood, the benchmark behind hardwood flooring and trim. U.S. dollars per cubic meter.

Browse flooring listings

Price

$728.9/m³

+2.10 +0.29%

12 months

-1.00%

Jul 2026 · $728.9/m³+4.0% over 2Y

$740.6$673.2

Jul 2024Jul 2025Jul 2026

Copper

Global benchmark copper: wire, tube and flashing. U.S. dollars per metric ton.

Price

$13,543/t

-9 -0.07%

12 months

+38.61%

Jul 2026 · $13,543/t+44.3% over 2Y

$13,552$8,910

Jul 2024Jul 2025Jul 2026

Aluminum

Global benchmark aluminum, the metal behind siding, gutters and window frames. U.S. dollars per metric ton.

Price

$3,158/t

-281 -8.16%

12 months

+21.17%

Jul 2026 · $3,158/t+34.4% over 2Y

$3,658$2,349

Jul 2024Jul 2025Jul 2026

Zinc

What galvanizing costs, so it moves galvanized framing, roofing, gutters and fasteners. U.S. dollars per metric ton.

Price

$3,594/t

+55 +1.56%

12 months

+30.09%

Jul 2026 · $3,594/t+29.4% over 2Y

$3,594$2,611

Jul 2024Jul 2025Jul 2026

Iron ore

The closest dollar benchmark to steel, upstream of rebar and structural shapes. There is no monthly global steel price in dollars, so finished steel appears below as an index. U.S. dollars per metric ton.

Price

$101.6/t

-2.20 -2.12%

12 months

+0.37%

Jul 2026 · $101.6/t-5.4% over 2Y

$111.6$96.17

Jul 2024Jul 2025Jul 2026

Natural gas

Henry Hub. Cement, gypsum board, glass and brick are all fired with it, so it sits upstream of a real share of any material bill. U.S. dollars per million BTU.

Price

$2.96/MMBtu

-0.24 -7.57%

12 months

-10.48%

Jul 2026 · $2.96/MMBtu+33.8% over 2Y

$4.46$2.10

Jul 2024Jul 2025Jul 2026

Crude oil

WTI. Asphalt shingles and PVC are made of it and every delivery burns it, so it moves more of a material bill than it looks like. U.S. dollars per barrel.

Price

$79.71/bbl

-4.89 -5.79%

12 months

+16.57%

Jul 2026 · $79.71/bbl-2.7% over 2Y

$102.0$58.04

Jul 2024Jul 2025Jul 2026

Price indexes

Finished products and the scrap market, which is the salvage floor under surplus metal. These are index levels, not prices: each number is a level against a fixed base year, so only the direction and the percentage mean anything.

Gypsum board

Drywall and gypsum panel products. Producer Price Index level.

Browse drywall listings

Index level

362.8

Unchanged

12 months

-0.90%

Aug 2026 · 362.8+0.1% over 2Y

369.5357.0

Aug 2024Aug 2025Aug 2026

Asphalt roofing

Prepared asphalt and tar roofing and siding: shingles and rolled roofing as they leave the plant.

Browse roofing listings

Index level

382.2

+1.84 +0.48%

12 months

+3.91%

Aug 2026 · 382.2+8.0% over 2Y

382.2352.5

Aug 2024Aug 2025Aug 2026

Ready-mix concrete

What the truck costs when it shows up. The single biggest line on many jobs.

Browse masonry & pavers listings

Index level

402.7

+0.47 +0.12%

12 months

+2.28%

Aug 2026 · 402.7+2.3% over 2Y

403.4391.2

Aug 2024Aug 2025Aug 2026

Plastic pipe & fittings

PVC, PEX and fittings as products, not resin. Watch crude oil above for the move upstream.

Browse plumbing listings

Index level

456.6

-0.18 -0.04%

12 months

+5.12%

Aug 2026 · 456.6-0.5% over 2Y

458.9424.6

Aug 2024Aug 2025Aug 2026

Iron & steel

Rebar, structural shapes, sheet. There is no monthly global steel price quoted in dollars, so this is the index rather than an oversight. Watch iron ore above for the dollar move upstream.

Index level

378.1

+3.52 +0.94%

12 months

+17.90%

Aug 2026 · 378.1+28.0% over 2Y

378.1286.7

Aug 2024Aug 2025Aug 2026

Hot rolled steel

Bars, plates and structural shapes: angle iron, channel, beams and tube. The finished steel a job actually buys.

Browse steel & metal listings

Index level

312.5

+0.31 +0.10%

12 months

+13.37%

Aug 2026 · 312.5+14.9% over 2Y

312.5250.3

Aug 2024Aug 2025Aug 2026

Copper scrap

No. 2 copper scrap, including wire. The salvage floor under leftover romex and cut-offs.

Index level

1,375

+19 +1.43%

12 months

+52.92%

Aug 2026 · 1,375+56.3% over 2Y

1,375857.0

Aug 2024Aug 2025Aug 2026

Steel scrap

Iron and steel scrap: what salvage buyers pay for demo steel, rebar drops and old structural.

Index level

580.5

-9.03 -1.53%

12 months

+9.48%

Aug 2026 · 580.5+11.5% over 2Y

614.8514.7

Aug 2024Aug 2025Aug 2026

Aluminum scrap

Aluminum base scrap: old siding, gutters and window frames headed for the yard.

Index level

475.5

+5.70 +1.21%

12 months

+30.62%

Aug 2026 · 475.5+59.9% over 2Y

475.5290.6

Aug 2024Aug 2025Aug 2026

Insulation

Mineral wool for thermal and acoustical envelope insulation: batts, rolls and board.

Browse insulation listings

Index level

272.4

+2.83 +1.05%

12 months

-0.95%

Aug 2026 · 272.4-1.2% over 2Y

282.5269.5

Aug 2024Aug 2025Aug 2026

Vinyl & plastic building products

Where vinyl siding, trim and soffit sit. BLS has no siding-only index, so this is the bucket that contains it.

Browse siding & exterior listings

Index level

181.0

-0.63 -0.35%

12 months

+4.86%

Aug 2026 · 181.0+6.1% over 2Y

181.6168.8

Aug 2024Aug 2025Aug 2026

Sheet metal work

Gutters, downspouts, flashing and duct. Fabricated sheet metal rather than the raw coil.

Browse siding & exterior listings

Index level

337.8

+1.93 +0.58%

12 months

+6.53%

Aug 2026 · 337.8+11.7% over 2Y

337.8300.4

Aug 2024Aug 2025Aug 2026

Fencing & railings

Steel and aluminum fences, gates, railings and window guards. Wood fence stock tracks softwood lumber above.

Browse landscape listings

Index level

371.7

-0.81 -0.22%

12 months

+7.68%

Aug 2026 · 371.7+18.4% over 2Y

372.5314.0

Aug 2024Aug 2025Aug 2026

Hand & edge tools

Hand and edge tools, tracked since 1947. No feed category yet, so this one is context rather than a shortcut.

Index level

333.6

-0.60 -0.18%

12 months

+5.69%

Aug 2026 · 333.6+13.0% over 2Y

334.2295.3

Aug 2024Aug 2025Aug 2026

All construction materials

The broad index across every construction input.

Index level

375.9

+1.04 +0.28%

12 months

+10.09%

Aug 2026 · 375.9+15.8% over 2Y

375.9324.1

Aug 2024Aug 2025Aug 2026

What this is, and what it isn't

These are monthly readings, not a live tape. Benchmark prices come from the IMF primary commodity data; the indexes come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both are published a few weeks after the month they cover, which is why every figure here names its month.

They are global wholesale benchmarks by the tonne, not a quote from your supplier and not a local price. What a bunk of surplus studs is worth on your street depends on who finished a job last week. Treat this as which way the wind is blowing, and price your own listings on what you see nearby.

Source: FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, series PSAWOREUSDM, PSAWMALUSDM, PCOPPUSDM, PALUMUSDM, PZINCUSDM, PIORECRUSDM, PNGASUSUSDM, POILWTIUSDM, PCU3274203274201, PCU3241223241222, PCU327320327320, PCU326122326122, WPU101, WPU101704, WPU10230102, WPU1012, WPU102302, WPU139201, WPU072106063, PCU332322332322, PCU33232333232382, WPU1042, WPUSI012011.