Copper
All-time high
+42%
in 18 months
Aug 201610 yearsAug 2026
- 1 month
- +4.2%
- 1 year
- +27%
- 5 years
- +49%
Copper wire and cable, producer price index (BLS WPU10260314)
McRitchie Forge Index · August 2026
How hard copper and steel prices are pushing, and what to carry on your next bid.
One score from 0 to 100, built every month from the government's producer price indexes for the steel and copper wire a GC actually buys.
86
Hot
- Copper
- 90
- Hot
- Steel
- 82
- Hot
Steel
+42%
in 18 months
Aug 201610 yearsAug 2026
- 1 month
- +1.7%
- 1 year
- +23%
- 5 years
- −4.5%
Steel mill products, producer price index (BLS WPU1017)
What to carry
If you bid today and buy later, plan for this.
The increase that covered nine out of ten past outcomes for a buy that many months out, sized on how much each metal is swinging right now.
| Buying in | Copper: carry up to | Steel: carry up to |
|---|---|---|
| 3 months | +9% held 83% of the time in the 2014–2026 test | +18% held 87% of the time in the 2014–2026 test |
| 6 months | +18% held 93% of the time in the 2014–2026 test | +35% held 91% of the time in the 2014–2026 test |
| 12 months | +31% held 96% of the time in the 2014–2026 test | +72% held 91% of the time in the 2014–2026 test |
Tested before it was published: the method was built on 1990–2013 prices and checked against every month from January 2014 through August 2026. It sizes risk; it doesn't predict direction, and it isn't your supplier's quote.
Month by month, last 24 months
Up
Down
Copper
Steel
Sep 2024Aug 2026
The long view
Every month since October 1997.
The Forge Index back-dated as far as the data allows, under copper and steel prices (both Oct 1997 = 100).
Prices
The Forge Index, 0 to 100
Copper
Steel
- Hottest
- 100
- March 2004 · Hot
- Coldest
- 10
- January 1999 · Cold
- Now
- 86
- August 2026 · Hot
The Forge Report
Get each month's reading.
One short email a month, when the new numbers land: the Forge Index, copper and steel, and what to carry on your next bid.
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How the score works
Each month, for each metal, three readings from 0 to 100:
- Speed: its 3-month price change, ranked against the last 10 years.
- Stretch: how far it sits above its own 12-month average, ranked the same way.
- Range: where today's price sits between its 10-year low and high.
A metal's score is the average of its three; the Forge Index averages copper and steel. Bands: Cold 0–24, Cool 25–44, Steady 45–55, Warm 56–75, Hot 76–100.
What it is, and isn't
It describes the pressure on prices now. It doesn't forecast them, and it isn't contract or financial advice: your contract's own escalation clause governs.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price indexes, via FRED: Copper Wire and Cable (WPU10260314) and Steel Mill Products (WPU1017), through August 2026. BLS publishes each month about two weeks after it ends.