Can't quite figure out where prices are going? Prices tied to the housing market, such as lumber, plywood and gypsum wallboard, are bouncing back from record lows with impressive year-to-year gains; however, they remain below previous highs. Steel prices are dropping, and everything else is going sideways. Once again, the U.S. Congress, fighting over the budget, is threatening to throw a monkey wrench into the works by either shutting down the federal government or refusing to raise the federal debt ceiling. Either step could derail a fragile recovery and drastically change the coming year's cost picture.
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