Commodity price growth quadruples as aluminum jumps 40.9%

by ciara_lalor-lindo | September 16, 2026 1:39 pm

For architects planning projects in the coming year, construction cost pressures in the United States are shifting from labor to materials, with related commodity prices rising 13.3% year-over-year (YOY) as tariffs, metals supply constraints, and demand from data centers and infrastructure projects push input costs higher.

That’s according to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest “Construction Insights for Global Occupiers[1]” report,¹ which also finds that, while supply chain pressures have eased globally from their April peak, metals and equipment costs are expected to remain elevated amid structural supply constraints.

The increase in commodity prices is more than 4.7 times the rate recorded a year earlier, led by aluminum at 40.9%, copper base scrap at 39.3%, and nonferrous metals at 38.5%. This has a direct effect on designers as structural constraints are expected to keep metals and equipment costs elevated.

“The pressure on construction costs hasn’t disappeared, but its source is changing,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Tyler Paytas. “Labor remains constrained, particularly in specialized trades, but materials and equipment are increasingly driving escalation. For occupiers planning projects, that means the cost environment can remain challenging even as wage growth moderates.”

The Engineering News-Record Building Cost Index increased 4.7% YOY in August, compared with a 1.5% increase in its skilled labor component. Overall, construction material prices rose at least 1.0% month over month for three consecutive months through August, with annual growth accelerating from 6.5% in June to 8.5% in August.

Contractors working on data center projects reported an average backlog of 11.0 months, compared with 8.5 months among contractors without data center exposure. Infrastructure construction backlog reached 10.1 months in June, up 7.9% from a year earlier.

Contractor pricing was up an average of 4.3% YOY as of June, including a 6.4% increase in concrete. Metro-level construction costs increased an average of 4.42% YOY during the second quarter, approximately 0.9 percentage points above the national producer price index for nonresidential structures.

Meanwhile, commercial and industrial architectural billings registered 46.7 in June, below the 50-threshold indicating growth. Nine of the past 10 months have registered below 50, signaling continued weakness in the broader nonresidential construction pipeline into 2027.

“Construction is increasingly a story of two markets,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Ethan Tribble. “Data centers, infrastructure, and other large projects are generating significant demand for materials, electrical equipment, and specialized labor even as pipelines remain much thinner across traditional sectors. That concentration is supporting overall construction activity while putting additional pressure on many of the same inputs occupiers need for their projects.”

This divergence is also contributing to greater volatility for architects and design teams. New construction starts surged 33.5% month over month in May as major healthcare, manufacturing, utilities, and data center projects broke ground, before declining 20% in June. These swings can quickly affect contractor availability, pricing, and lead times, especially when major projects enter the market at the same time.

Despite rapidly rising input costs, overall U.S. construction cost growth has remained comparatively contained. Construction costs increased 0.7% from the fourth quarter of 2025, compared with 6.4% in South Korea and 3.9% in Germany.

While domestic energy production has helped insulate the U.S. from some of the energy-driven cost increases, Cushman & Wakefield expects U.S. construction prices to accelerate as higher materials and equipment costs increasingly flow through to project pricing. Therefore, architects should address cost risk earlier in the design process, particularly for material-intensive assemblies, façade packages, electrical infrastructure, HVAC systems, and other long-lead building components.

“Cost escalation is increasingly concentrated in the materials and systems that are critical to modern construction,” Paytas said. “For occupiers, early procurement, realistic budgeting and understanding where those pressures are most acute will become increasingly important as projects move forward.”

Cushman & Wakefield[2] is a global commercial real estate services firm for occupiers and investors, with over 350 offices in nearly 60 countries.

Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/news/industry-news/commodity-price-growth-quadruples-as-aluminum-jumps-40-9/

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