Overall, the price of materials inputs to residential construction fell by 1.8% in December on an unadjusted basis, led by a 12.0% decline in OSB prices. While NAHB Eye on Housing’s David Logan notes that most building materials prices showed little movement last month, December marks the second consecutive month of double-digit price drops in OSB prices. In addition, while softwood lumber prices rose by 1.0%, the increase followed five months of price declines totaling 23.6%.
Data from Random Lengths shows even steeper declines over the latter half of 2018. Unlike the PPI, which excludes the prices of imports, Random Lengths data includes purchases in the United States and Canada regardless of the country of origin. These data show that the prices of OSB and softwood lumber have fallen 52.0% and 43.0%, respectively, since June’s high mark.
The prices of other goods used in residential construction changed experienced modest increases in December. Gypsum products and ready-mix concrete ticked up by 1.8% and 0.5% (seasonally adjusted), respectively. This concluded a volatile, rollercoaster year for the gypsum products price index, which ended 2018 3.0% higher than it stood in December 2017.
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