Construction input prices increased slightly by 0.1% in August, according to a recent Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data.Nonresidential construction input prices increased 0.2% for the month. Overall construction input prices are now 0.7% lower than they were a year ago, while nonresidential construction input prices are down by 0.9%.Chart credit: Associated Builders and ContractorsConstruction input prices are now down almost a full percentage point over the past year, ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu said. This is a welcome development for contractors, a plurality of whom now expect their profit margins to contract over the next six months, according to ABCs Construction Confidence Index. Moderating materials price escalation, along with easing labor constraints and the near certainty that the Federal Reserve will begin lowering interest rates at its next meeting, should provide some relief to con...