Diesel More Than Doubled, Stone and Gravel Up 6.1%: What October’s Price Data Means for a 2027 Patio or Wall
The BLS producer price index for October showed diesel up 115.2% from a year earlier, while the indexes for construction sand, gravel and crushed stone and for concrete products rose at a single-digit pace. Here's what moved, and what it means if you're pricing a patio, wall or excavation job for 2027.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, that its producer price index for No. 2 diesel fuel was 115.2% higher in October than a year earlier, while the index for construction sand, gravel and crushed stone rose 6.1% and the index for concrete products rose 4.1% over the same 12 months.
The short version
Producer prices track changes in what quarries, plants and refiners are paid for what they sell, not what you pay at a counter or on a contractor’s invoice. In October’s data, the stone and concrete products that go into a patio or retaining wall rose at a single-digit pace over the year, and cement slipped 0.4%. The biggest increases we cite were in diesel, steel and truck freight. The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) says prices for inputs to new nonresidential construction rose 13.3% from October 2025, the most in more than four years.
What the October numbers show
Across the whole economy, BLS says final demand prices rose 0.3% in October (seasonally adjusted) and 6.5% over the 12 months ended in October (not seasonally adjusted). The detail table in the October release shows how unevenly that played out for the things that go into a yard or site-work job:
| Producer price index | Oct. 2025 to Oct. 2026 | Sept. to Oct. 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Construction sand, gravel and crushed stone | +6.1% | +0.3% |
| Concrete products | +4.1% | +0.3% |
| Cement | −0.4% | +0.5% |
| Asphalt (refinery product) | +11.5% | −2.6% |
| No. 2 diesel fuel | +115.2% | −7.9% |
| Steel mill products | +32.9% | +2.7% |
| Softwood lumber | +10.6% | −3.1% |
| Plastic construction products | +5.7% | −0.4% |
| Nitrogenates (nitrogen fertilizer materials) | +19.0% | −4.9% |
| Lawn and garden equipment, except garden tractors | +3.0% | +0.2% |
| Construction machinery and equipment | +1.4% | +0.1% |
Diesel eased in October, falling 7.9% from September on BLS’s seasonally adjusted basis (AGC and NAHB both report a 4.6% monthly drop), but it is still more than double its level of a year ago. In its Nov. 13 release, AGC says the index for truck transportation of freight rose 24.6% over the year and precast concrete products, which have steel embedded in them, rose 9.9%. AGC chief economist Ken Simonson says construction firms are experiencing “ever-greater impacts from tariff- and Middle East turmoil.” AGC officials warn that rising material and freight costs, longer delivery times and soft demand for most types of construction projects are squeezing contractors, making it difficult to pass price increases along to project owners.
NAHB’s read of the same BLS data shows a similar split. The National Association of Home Builders reports that prices for inputs to new residential construction (goods and services combined) were 10.4% higher than a year earlier, while building materials alone, without energy, were up 5.8%.
How we’d read it as a builder
We buy block, pavers and stone and run diesel machines on residential jobs in central PA. Here’s our take for anyone pricing a patio, wall or excavation job for 2027.
- The block and stone aren’t where the jump is. Concrete products rose 4.1% and sand, gravel and crushed stone 6.1% over the year, and cement slipped. Those are real increases, but they’re small next to diesel, steel and freight.
- Delivery can be a big share of the price. On our own October invoice for 2B clean stone, published in our Central PA Cost Index, the stone was $24.75 a ton at the quarry and the haul added $11.60 a ton, for $36.35 delivered, before 6% sales tax. On that invoice, the haul was nearly a third of the delivered price, and hauling is the part most directly exposed to fuel and freight prices.
- Machine-heavy jobs carry more of the fuel cost. The same cost index shows labor and machine time at a median 81% of the price on 10 itemized grading, bed and drainage jobs, while materials were a median 39% on our 5 itemized wall and patio jobs. Excavators, skid steers and dump trucks typically run on diesel, so digging, grading and haul-off are where fuel shows up most directly. Our guide to excavation cost in central PA explains why two quotes for the same dig can be $5,000 apart.
- Steel shows up where your job uses it. Steel mill products rose 32.9%. On a yard job, that reaches items like rebar and wire mesh in concrete work.
None of this tells you what any one contractor will charge next spring. Producer prices are one input among many, alongside labor, equipment, overhead and how busy local crews are. For the demand side of the picture, see our report on September’s 1.9% drop in construction spending from August.
Builder’s note: If you’re collecting bids for a 2027 project this winter, ask each contractor three things and get the answers in the written contract: how many days the price holds, whether delivery, haul-off and any fuel surcharge are included, and whether the price can change before work starts and on what basis. Then compare bids line by line, not just the totals. Our report on a recent Pennsylvania Attorney General lawsuit walks through seven of the 13 contract items state law requires.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Producer Price Indexes – October 2026 (news release and Table 2, Nov. 13, 2026); Associated General Contractors of America, construction input costs release (Nov. 13, 2026); NAHB Eye on Housing, Building Material Price Inflation Remains High Despite Energy Price Declines (Nov. 13, 2026); Muthler Landscaping & Construction, Central PA Cost Index (data through Nov. 12, 2026)
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Written and reviewed by Thayne Muthler, owner of Muthler Landscaping & Construction (PA HIC #PA212584). How we check facts: editorial policy.