Steel, Aluminum, and Equipment Tariffs Are Quietly Adding Billions to the Cost Stack
While lumber tends to dominate the headlines, the bigger and steadier cost pressure in 2026 construction budgets is coming from metals. Steel tariffs are adding an estimated $180 to $240 per ton to imported steel costs, aluminum tariffs are tacking on roughly 12 to 18 cents per pound, and layered tariffs on Chinese-made construction equipment — including a 100% duty on electric excavators and loaders — are reshaping equipment procurement decisions for larger contractors.
Taken together, industry estimates put the annual cost impact of these tariffs in the billions nationally, concentrated in structural steel, window and curtain wall systems, HVAC components, and imported finish equipment — the parts of a commercial build that are hardest to substitute out on short notice. For Oregon and Washington contractors bidding commercial and multifamily work with significant steel or aluminum content, the lesson from this year’s cost data is the same one showing up across nearly every material category: lock in pricing and long-lead items early, and build escalation clauses into contracts rather than absorbing the risk of a mid-project tariff change.
[Source: Buildermuse tariff cost analysis, April 2026]
