Nonresidential Construction PPI Jumps 7.4% as AI Buildout Drives Materials Up 10.5%
Updated
Updated · WOLF STREET · Aug 17
Nonresidential Construction PPI Jumps 7.4% as AI Buildout Drives Materials Up 10.5%
2 articles · Updated · WOLF STREET · Aug 17
Summary
July data showed nonresidential construction services prices up 7.4% from a year earlier, with the surge accelerating since March and reaching a cumulative 5.1% over five months.
Construction materials prices rose 10.5% year over year, the biggest increase since June 2022, as AI data-center and power-infrastructure projects intensify shortages in labor and key inputs.
Fabricated structural metal bar joists and concrete reinforcing bars climbed 17.7%, underscoring pressure on contracts that often use PPI-linked escalation clauses to reset project budgets.
Total nonresidential building construction costs increased 5.2% from a year earlier and are up 45% since early 2021, showing the latest jump is landing on top of already elevated costs.
The PPI data do not isolate data centers, but the report says AI and semiconductor plant booms are spreading inflation across nonresidential construction more broadly.