Asphalt roofing prices fell 2.0% in September 2026, the largest August-to-September drop since 2016

Sat, 17 Oct 2026 08:31:52 -0400

The Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price index for prepared asphalt and tar roofing and siding products fell 2.0% in September 2026, to 366.4 from a record 373.9 in August. A producer price index tracks what manufacturers receive for their goods, before a distributor or a roofer adds a markup. September’s drop was the largest from August to September since 2016 and the largest in any month since January 2026. The index still stood 2.7% above September 2025. The BLS released the September figure on October 15, and it is preliminary.

Asphalt roofing prices fell from their August record

Producer Price Index, prepared asphalt and tar roofing and siding products, index 1982=100, not seasonally adjusted, monthly since January 2004

June through September 2026 are preliminary and can be revised. Source: fred.stlouisfed.org

September’s reading is the fourth highest in a series that begins in 1926. Only June, July and August 2026 were higher. The release also revised the summer slightly down. August now stands at 373.9, down from the 374.1 first published, and July at 372.2, down from 372.3. August remains the record.

Producer Price Index, prepared asphalt and tar roofing and siding products, the last 13 months. June through September 2026 are preliminary.
Month	Index (1982=100)	Change on month (%)	Change on year (%)
2025-09	356.618	-0.9%	2.0%
2025-10	357.814	0.3%	-0.2%
2025-11	357.916	0.0%	1.4%
2025-12	354.925	-0.8%	0.7%
2026-01	347.005	-2.2%	-1.3%
2026-02	352.546	1.6%	1.2%
2026-03	346.394	-1.7%	-0.4%
2026-04	347.632	0.4%	0.8%
2026-05	354.678	2.0%	-0.9%
2026-06	367.585	3.6%	2.2%
2026-07	372.165	1.2%	3.6%
2026-08	373.881	0.5%	3.8%
2026-09	366.372	-2.0%	2.7%

Source: fred.stlouisfed.org

Asphalt and roofing products

The BLS index for asphalt from refineries, the raw material in these products, fell for a second month in September. It dropped 2.4% to 291.5, after an 8.5% fall in August. The August decline was first published as 9.6% and was revised to 8.5% in this release. Asphalt is now 10.7% below its July level. It is still 17.1% above September 2025 and 37.2% above March 2026, the month before it jumped.

The roofing products index has risen 5.8% since March, a much smaller move than asphalt’s.

Asphalt fell in August and September, and roofing products fell in September

Producer price indexes for asphalt roofing and siding products and for asphalt from refineries, each set to 100 in March 2026, not seasonally adjusted

Source: fred.stlouisfed.org

In this site’s reading of the two series, both turns in the roofing index this year came about a month after a turn in asphalt. Asphalt jumped 32.9% in April, and the roofing index posted its largest gains in May and June, at 2.0% and 3.6%. Asphalt fell 8.5% in August, and roofing products fell in September. That is a comparison of timing. It does not measure how much of either move came from asphalt.

Septembers since 2005

The roofing index is not seasonally adjusted, so a single month’s change carries some of the season with it. Comparing the same two months across years separates the season from the rest. From 2016 through 2025, the median change from August to September was a rise of 0.7%. Prices fell from August to September in 8 of the 21 years from 2005 through 2025, and only 2016, at 2.2%, had a larger drop than 2026.

The August-to-September drop in 2026 was the largest since 2016

Percent change in the roofing index from August to September of each year, computed from BLS data

Source: fred.stlouisfed.org

Roll roofing for low-slope roofs

Roll roofing and cap sheets are asphalt sheets sold in rolls and used on low-slope roofs. The BLS tracks two kinds: mineral-surfaced sheets, which carry a layer of granules on top, and smooth-surfaced sheets, which do not. Both moved differently from the overall index in September.

The mineral-surfaced index rose 1.1% in September to 180.2, the highest since the series began in December 2011. It was 7.7% above September 2025. The smooth-surfaced index held at 169.0 for a fourth month, its highest since the series began in December 2012 and 8.3% above a year earlier. Each of the two rose more over the year than the overall index, which also covers siding products.

Asphalt roofing producer price indexes, September 2026. Each series has its own base period, so compare the percent changes, not the index levels. September figures are preliminary.
Series	Base	September 2026	Change on month (%)	Change on year (%)	Change since March 2026 (%)
All asphalt and tar roofing and siding products	1982=100	366.372	-2.0%	2.7%	5.8%
Mineral-surfaced roll roofing and cap sheets	Dec 2011=100	180.21	1.1%	7.7%	6.7%
Smooth-surfaced roll roofing and cap sheets	Dec 2012=100	168.981	0.0%	8.3%	1.6%
Asphalt from refineries	Jun 1985=100	291.457	-2.4%	17.1%	37.2%

Source: fred.stlouisfed.org

Both roll roofing indexes are at the highest levels in their records

Producer price indexes, asphalt roll roofing and cap sheets, organic and fiberglass base, not seasonally adjusted, since January 2024

Mineral-surfaced roll roofing (Dec 2011=100)
Smooth-surfaced roll roofing (Dec 2012=100)

Source: fred.stlouisfed.org

What this means for a roof replacement

The materials line of a quote is the part that follows these indexes. Labor, tear-off, sheathing, flashing and ventilation make up the rest, as the guide to what moves the price of a roof replacement lays out. September’s drop leaves the overall index 5.8% above March, so a quote written in the spring and one written this month were priced against different materials costs.

Ask for the materials as a separate line, and ask how long the quoted price holds. For a flat or low-slope section, ask which roll roofing or membrane product the price assumes, since those indexes rose in September while the overall index fell.
If a contract adjusts its price with an index, the BLS guide to price adjustment says seasonally adjusted indexes are in general not appropriate, because such clauses usually aim to capture actual price changes. The same guide says producer price data are revised for up to four months after first publication, and the version published four months later is final. By that rule, the September figure becomes final with the release scheduled for February 12, 2027.
Any change to the agreed price or scope during the job belongs in a written change order. See what a roofing contract has to include.

Caveats

These are national producer prices. They do not measure what a roofer pays a distributor or what an installed roof costs in Conshohocken, and the indexes have no breakdown for southeastern Pennsylvania.

The figures for June through September 2026 are preliminary. The October figures are scheduled for release on November 13, 2026, and that release can revise September.

The roll roofing indexes cover narrower groups of products and can sit unchanged for months. The smooth-surfaced index held at the same value from June through September 2026, and at 153.788 from November 2023 through March 2024.

The overall index is not seasonally adjusted, which is why this article compares August to September across years instead of reading the 2026 drop on its own.

Low-slope roofs | Conshy Roofers

Asphalt roofing prices fell 2.0% in September 2026, the largest August-to-September drop since 2016

Asphalt and roofing products

Septembers since 2005

Roll roofing for low-slope roofs

What this means for a roof replacement

Caveats