Dive Brief:

• Data company IHS reports that its monthly index of construction materials, equipment and subcontractor costs kept its trend of increasing to 26 months in March, though not quite as steep of an increase as last month.
• The component for materials and equipment was at 51.5, and subcontractor labor was at 54.7, which gave a headline number of 52.5.
• Cooper-based wire and cable went down in price after rising for a few months, helping to bring down the size of the overall increase.

Dive Insight:

IHS said in announcing the March numbers that China had been selling off some copper, accounting for the decreased prices there. The information about prices and an estimate of where things will be six months out comes from the Procurement Executives Group.