The latest Producer Price Index (PPI) released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics finds the prices of goods used in residential construction decreased 0.5% in January, not seasonally adjusted.
Prices for OSB declined for the third consecutive month, falling 6.1% in January. Prices of OSB have decreased nearly 30% in the past three months and have fallen over 40% since hitting a peak in June 2018. Softwood lumber prices also fell modestly during January, declining 2.1%. Since declining by over 20% between June 2018 and November 2018, softwood lumber prices have fallen less than a percentage point in the past two months.
Prices for gypsum products remained volatile, declining a seasonally-adjusted 3.7% in January after rising less than half a percentage point in December. As a result of the volatility, prices for gypsum products are only 0.1% lower than they were in January 2018.
Prices paid for inputs to residential construction increased 1.6% over the past 12 months.
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