Reference · BLS Producer Price Index
What the parts cost the people who sell them to you
Producer prices for the copper, plastic pipe, fixtures, water heaters, HVAC equipment and wire a trade shop buys — how far each moved in a year, five years drawn to one scale, and what that means for the prices in your price book.
- Plumbing: biggest move
- +30.0%Copper and brass mill shapes, Sep 2025 to Sep 2026
- HVAC: biggest move
- +8.6%Unitary air-conditioners, except air source heat pumps, Sep 2025 to Sep 2026
- Electrical: biggest move
- +30.8%Copper wire and cable, Sep 2025 to Sep 2026
A year of price changes
Each index against the same month a year earlier, so the season drops out. The PPI “measures the average change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers for their output” (BLS): prices at the mill or factory, before a distributor adds its own margin.
Five years on one scale
Every series set to 100 in September 2021, so a line at 140 means prices 40% higher than then. All nine panels share the same scale. Hover, tap or use the arrow keys on a panel to read each month.
Swipe across the nine panels; tap one to read each month. Every number is also in the table below.
Plumbing · 1 of 9
Copper and brass mill shapes
+39.1%since Sep 2021
1 year: +30.0%Index 835.3, Sep 2026 (p)
Plumbing · 2 of 9
Plastics pipe
0.0%since Sep 2021
1 year: +3.7%Index 181.8, Sep 2026 (p)
Plumbing · 3 of 9
Plastics pipe fittings and unions
+37.0%since Sep 2021
1 year: +7.9%Index 355.1, Sep 2026 (p)
Plumbing · 4 of 9
Plumbing fixtures and fittings
+28.2%since Sep 2021
1 year: +5.8%Index 381.3, Sep 2026 (p)
Plumbing · 5 of 9
Domestic water heaters
+17.6%since Sep 2021 (to May 2026)
1 year: +0.7%Index 646.2, May 2026
Not published by BLS for June 2026 to September 2026.
HVAC · 6 of 9
Unitary air-conditioners, except air source heat pumps
+41.4%since Sep 2021
1 year: +8.6%Index 303.9, Sep 2026 (p)
HVAC · 7 of 9
Heat pumps
+7.2%since Sep 2021
1 year: −4.1%Index 141.9, Sep 2026 (p)
HVAC · 8 of 9
Furnaces and heaters, including parts
+37.9%since Sep 2021
1 year: +2.5%Index 337.5, Sep 2026 (p)
Electrical · 9 of 9
Copper wire and cable
+51.5%since Sep 2021
1 year: +30.8%Index 607.7, Sep 2026 (p)
What it means for your price book
Copper is the line to watch
Copper and brass mill shapes are +30.0% and copper wire and cable +30.8% from September 2025 to September 2026. If a task’s parts were priced from a supplier quote a year ago and your supplier’s prices followed the mill index, $1,000 of copper tube then would cost about $1,300 now. (Fittings are a separate BLS index, not in this one.)
Plastic and fixtures moved less
Plastics pipe fittings are +7.9% in a year and plumbing fixtures and fittings +5.8%. Water heaters are +0.7% from May 2025 to May 2026, the last month BLS has published for that index.
HVAC equipment split
Unitary air-conditioners are +8.6% while heat pumps are −4.1%: equipment priced a year ago can now be high or low depending on the type, so check current equipment quotes before you reprint a flat rate.
- Index, not invoice. These are national producer prices; your distributor, region and volume set what you pay. Use the index to see which parts lines to re-check first, then use your supplier’s current price.
- Update the cost, keep the method. Put the new parts cost into your price book and let the same markup or margin carry it to the price — the markup and margin calculator shows what a markup really leaves.
- Rebuild in one place. The price book builder reprices every task when you change a parts cost or your hourly rate.
Every number
Each index’s change over one year and five years to its latest published month, the index value, and (on wider screens) the change over one month. (p) marks a preliminary value: “Preliminary. All indexes are subject to monthly revisions up to four months after original publication.”
| Series | 1 year | 5 years | Index | 1 month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper and brass mill shapesSep 2026 (p)WPU102502 · 1982 = 100 | +30.0% | +39.1% | 835.3 | +1.4% |
| Plastics pipeSep 2026 (p)WPU07210603 · December 2005 = 100 | +3.7% | 0.0% | 181.8 | −0.4% |
| Plastics pipe fittings and unionsSep 2026 (p)WPU07210604 · December 2005 = 100 | +7.9% | +37.0% | 355.1 | +0.3% |
| Plumbing fixtures and fittingsSep 2026 (p)WPU105 · 1982 = 100 | +5.8% | +28.2% | 381.3 | 0.0% |
| Domestic water heatersMay 2026WPU1066 · 1982 = 100 | +0.7% | +37.6% | 646.2 | 0.0% |
| Unitary air-conditioners, except air source heat pumpsSep 2026 (p)WPU114802 · 1982 = 100 | +8.6% | +41.4% | 303.9 | 0.0% |
| Heat pumpsSep 2026 (p)WPU11480734 · December 2009 = 100 | −4.1% | +7.2% | 141.9 | 0.0% |
| Furnaces and heaters, including partsSep 2026 (p)WPU1062 · 1982 = 100 | +2.5% | +37.9% | 337.5 | +0.1% |
| Copper wire and cableSep 2026 (p)WPU10260314 · December 1986 = 100 | +30.8% | +51.5% | 607.7 | +0.8% |
Domestic water heaters: changes to May 2026, the latest month BLS has published (5 years = May 2021 to May 2026), so they differ from the panel above, which starts in September 2021.
About the data
The Producer Price Index tracks the selling prices domestic producers receive for their output. These are BLS commodity indexes, not seasonally adjusted, each with its own base period (shown in the table), so compare changes, not index levels. What each covers, from the BLS item list:
- Copper and brass mill shapes (WPU102502): Copper and copper-alloy sheet, strip and plate; rod, bar and shapes; and pipe and tube.
- Plastics pipe (WPU07210603): Drain, waste and vent pipe; water pipe; sewer, storm drain and water main pipe; industrial and other plastics pipe.
- Plastics pipe fittings and unions (WPU07210604): Plastics pipe fittings and unions.
- Plumbing fixtures and fittings (WPU105): Vitreous china fixtures, plumbing fixture fittings and trim, and enameled iron and metal sanitary ware.
- Domestic water heaters (WPU1066): Household water heaters, electric and other than electric.
- Unitary air-conditioners, except air source heat pumps (WPU114802): Unitary air-conditioners, not including air-source heat pumps.
- Heat pumps (WPU11480734): Heat pumps (within heat transfer equipment).
- Furnaces and heaters, including parts (WPU1062): Warm air furnaces; floor and wall furnaces, unit heaters, infrared heaters and mechanical stokers; including parts.
- Copper wire and cable (WPU10260314): Copper wire and cable (within nonferrous wire and cable).
Data from the BLS Public Data API, fetched October 28, 2026, through September 2026 (released October 15, 2026). The page is rebuilt after each monthly release; values marked (p) can still be revised for four months. BLS has not published domestic water heaters since May 2026, and the narrower copper pipe and tube and power wire and cable indexes have long gaps in 2024–2026, so the wider copper mill-shapes and copper wire indexes stand in for them here.
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