Santa Clara, Calif. – September 30, 2026 -- The producer price index for new nonresidential construction inputs climbed 8.4% year over year through May 2026, the steepest annual increase since the pandemic period, according to DPR Construction's latest Market Conditions Report.
Cross-sector demand strains shared labor and supply pools
DPR Construction, a self-performing contractor, finds that investment across digital infrastructure, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, transportation and energy is pulling from the same pools of electricians, mechanical trades, commissioning specialists and field leaders. Projects that appear unrelated on paper are increasingly tied together through overlapping resource demands, the report states.
Owners face cost and schedule risk even without sector-specific demand shifts
"Owners need visibility into the markets competing for the same resources as their project," said Roel Aguilar, DPR's national preconstruction leader. He noted that resource overlap can affect cost, schedule and execution even when demand within an owner's own sector remains unchanged.
Supply networks hold, but concentrated demand shifts pricing and lead times
DPR reports that manufacturing capacity, transportation, sourcing options and trade policy are all shifting, influencing material pricing and delivery windows even as broader supply chains continue functioning.
Report outlines three planning priorities for project teams
The Q3 report advises teams to map where critical trades, equipment and suppliers also serve fast-growing regional sectors, to test trade-partner and supplier capacity against project schedules, and to preserve flexibility through sequencing, prefabrication, design coordination and alternative sourcing.
The report additionally tracks material costs, trade policy, transportation, power availability and logistics, pairing each with mitigation strategies for shifting conditions. DPR maintains a positive outlook toward 2027, citing continued long-term investment across major sectors, while noting that teams linking market signals to estimating, design, procurement and field execution will achieve more predictable project outcomes.