U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Associated Builders and Contractors Material prices reached their highest level since January 2023 amid skyrocketing gas prices.  Construction material prices rose 2.2% in March, month-over-month, and 4.8% since March 2025, according to recent Producer Price Index data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The yearly increase marks “the largest annual increase since January 2023,” Anirban Basu, chief economist at Associated Builders and Contractors , said in a statement. While materials such as iron and steel and steel mill products rose 1.6% and 2.1%, respectively, crude petroleum prices have increased by a whopping 20.2% since February. “Construction materials prices surged in March,” said Basu.…