Material costs are heating up again. Construction input prices climbed at a 12.6% annualized rate in early 2026, the fastest pace since 2022, and the driver isn’t a mystery. Section 232 tariffs of 50% on steel, aluminum, and copper are working their way straight into bids. Metal molding and trim prices alone jumped 50% over the past year.
Where the pressure is concentrated
The tariff structure is the thing to understand. Items made mostly or entirely of steel, aluminum, or copper carry the full 50%. Derivative products, anything where those metals are a component, sit at 25%. Softwood lumber carries 10%, with derivatives at 25%. For a contractor pricing a steel-framed building or a job heavy on mechanical and electrical rough-in, that’s a direct hit to the metals line, and it’s not easing.
There was one adjustment worth noting. On June 1, the White House revised the Section 232 rules, with changes taking effect June 8. Some imported agricultural equipment, certain residential HVAC products, and select mobile industrial machinery moved into a temporary 15% tier through the end of 2027. Useful if your scope leans on that equipment. Irrelevant if your exposure is structural steel, which most commercial and industrial work is.
The mixed signals
Not every material is up. Ready-mix concrete prices have softened, and softwood lumber is running below year-ago levels. The trouble is that those pockets of relief don’t offset the broader climb, because the materials getting cheaper aren’t the ones carrying the tariffs. Concrete easing helps a foundation package. It does nothing for the curtain wall or the joists.
A global 10% baseline tariff is set to expire July 24, which adds one more variable to second-half pricing. For now, escalation guidance sits in the 4% to 6% range, with tariff-sensitive and labor-intensive trades running higher. The practical takeaway for estimators hasn’t changed: don’t assume broad relief is coming on metals, and price escalation into bids rather than hoping the tariffs lapse. They’ve outlasted that bet before.