Institutional furniture prices rose 5.1% in the year to August 2026 while aluminum rose 27.3%

Sat, 03 Oct 2026 16:37:03 -0400

The Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price index for institutional furniture manufacturing stood at 236.922 in August 2026, 5.1% above August 2025. The index tracks the prices U.S. makers receive for furniture such as restaurant tables and chairs, cafeteria benches, stadium seating and park benches. It was 0.01% below July’s 236.947, the highest reading since the index began in December 2003. The August figure was released on September 10 and is preliminary.

The materials that go into commercial outdoor furniture rose faster over the same twelve months. The producer price index for aluminum mill shapes rose 27.3% and the index for steel mill products rose 23.4%. Lumber rose 7.6%, and thermoplastic resins and plastics materials rose 7.3%.

Institutional furniture prices reached a record in July 2026 and held in August

Producer Price Index, institutional furniture manufacturing (PCU337127337127), index Dec 2003=100, not seasonally adjusted, monthly since December 2003

May through August 2026 can be revised. BLS revises producer price data for up to four months after first publication. Source: fred.stlouisfed.org

The change on the year has stayed between 5.1% and 8.2% in every month from June 2025 through August 2026. The largest of those gains, 8.2% in October 2025, was the biggest since April 2023.

Producer Price Index, institutional furniture manufacturing, the last 13 months. August 2026 is preliminary.
Month	Index (Dec 2003=100)	Change on month (%)	Change on year (%)
2025-08	225.527	0.13	6.3%
2025-09	225.629	0.05	6.3%
2025-10	229.072	1.53	8.2%
2025-11	229.716	0.28	7.6%
2025-12	228.643	-0.47	7.2%
2026-01	231.191	1.11	8.0%
2026-02	232.567	0.60	8.0%
2026-03	232.601	0.01	7.7%
2026-04	233.831	0.53	5.4%
2026-05	234.409	0.25	5.4%
2026-06	236.827	1.03	6.2%
2026-07	236.947	0.05	5.2%
2026-08	236.922	0.01	5.1%

Source: fred.stlouisfed.org

What the index covers

The Census Bureau defines the industry behind the index, institutional furniture manufacturing (NAICS 337127), as makers of furniture such as library, school, theater and church furniture, along with general-purpose hospital, laboratory and dental tables, stools and benches. The products listed under the industry include restaurant furniture, cafeteria tables and benches, stadium and bleacher seating, and park-type benches other than concrete or stone. Office furniture is classified in a separate industry.

BLS publishes indexes for groups of products inside the industry, and they moved at different rates over the year to August 2026.

Public furniture for bars, bowling centers, cafeterias and restaurants rose 4.3% to 213.228. This index changes in steps. It held at 204.342 from July through September 2025, then rose in October 2025 and in January, April, June and August 2026.
Public building and related furniture, which excludes bar, bowling, cafeteria, restaurant and school furniture, rose 2.2% to 361.933.
Other institutional furniture rose 7.5% to 181.096.

Producer price indexes for institutional furniture products, August 2025 and August 2026. Each index has its own base period.
Index	Series	Index base	August 2025	August 2026	Change on year (%)
Other institutional furniture	PCU337127337127B	Dec 2011=100	168.413	181.096	7.5%
All institutional furniture	PCU337127337127	Dec 2003=100	225.527	236.922	5.1%
Public furniture for bars, bowling centers, cafeterias and restaurants	PCU3371273371278	Dec 2003=100	204.342	213.228	4.3%
Public building and related furniture, excluding bar, bowling, cafeteria, restaurant and school	PCU3371273371275	Dec 1984=100	354.178	361.933	2.2%

Source: fred.stlouisfed.org

Materials rose faster

Aluminum rose the most of the four materials. Its index reached 394.292 in June 2026, the highest reading in a series that begins in 1947. It fell 1.6% in July and 4.4% in August, to 370.902. That left it 5.9% below June and 27.3% above August 2025.

Steel mill products rose in each of the nine months from December 2025 through August 2026, including 1.7% in August, to 381.162. That is 23.4% above a year earlier and 15.2% below the series high of 449.711 in December 2021.

Lumber rose 7.6% over the year to 286.633. Thermoplastic resins and plastics materials rose 7.3% to 283.105, though that index has fallen 9.7% since May 2026.

Producer price indexes for materials and for institutional furniture, August 2025 and August 2026. August 2026 is preliminary.
Item	Series	Index base	August 2025	August 2026	Change on year (%)
Aluminum mill shapes	WPU102501	1982=100	291.259	370.902	27.3%
Steel mill products	WPU1017	1982=100	308.772	381.162	23.4%
Lumber	WPU081	1982=100	266.293	286.633	7.6%
Thermoplastic resins and plastics materials	WPU0662	1982=100	263.885	283.105	7.3%
Institutional furniture	PCU337127337127	Dec 2003=100	225.527	236.922	5.1%

Source: fred.stlouisfed.org

Over two years the gap is wider. From August 2024 to August 2026, aluminum mill shapes rose 56.4% and steel mill products 38.5%. Institutional furniture rose 11.7% over the same period, and the restaurant furniture group 8.6%. Lumber rose 13.9% and resins 3.5%.

Aluminum rose 56.4% in two years and institutional furniture 11.7%

Producer price indexes rebased so that August 2024 = 100, not seasonally adjusted, monthly. Same scale on every panel.

Aluminum mill shapes (Aug 2024=100)

Steel mill products (Aug 2024=100)

Institutional furniture (Aug 2024=100)

Source: fred.stlouisfed.org

The two kinds of index measure different prices. The BLS guide to price adjustment says producer price indexes measure the average change in prices that domestic producers receive for their output. It adds that a PPI does not directly measure the cost of producing a good, though costs factor into the selling price. The material indexes are prices that mills and other suppliers receive, and the furniture index is the price that furniture makers receive.

Demand from hotels and restaurants

Two Census Bureau series give context on demand from the properties this site covers. Construction spending on lodging was $24.9 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) in August 2026, 10.0% below August 2025. The August figure is the first estimate, released October 1, and the same release revised the July estimate.

Sales at food services and drinking places were $91.4 billion in August 2026, seasonally adjusted, 5.4% above a year earlier. That figure is an advance estimate, which Census replaces with revised estimates from its larger monthly survey.

Lodging construction spending and food services sales, August 2025 and August 2026, millions of dollars.
Measure	Series	Units	August 2025	August 2026	Change on year (%)
Construction spending, lodging	TLLODGCONS	Millions of dollars, SAAR	27,629	24,862	-10.0%
Retail sales, food services and drinking places (advance)	RSFSDP	Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted	86,755	91,416	5.4%

Source: fred.stlouisfed.org

What this means for a furniture order

Ask the dealer how long a quote’s price holds, and whether the maker can reprice the order before it ships. The metal indexes moved more than finished furniture over the past two years, and in both directions in 2026: aluminum fell 5.9% from June to August while steel rose.
If a contract adjusts the price with an index, the BLS guide advises naming the index, the base and comparison months, and the date the calculation will be made, using the latest data published as of that date. The guide also notes that adjusting a product’s price by the PPI for that same product can be circular, and that escalation clauses generally deal with volatile input costs on the seller’s side.
These indexes cover prices that domestic producers receive. For imported seats and tables, the duties in the tariff guide apply as well. The materials guide covers what each material’s makers say about care and warranties.

Caveats

Producer price data are revised. The BLS guide says data are subject to monthly revisions for up to four months after first publication, so the values for May through August 2026 can still change. The next release, with September data, is scheduled for October 15, 2026.

These are national producer prices. They do not measure what a dealer charges or what a delivered order costs.

The institutional furniture index covers indoor and outdoor products alike, from theater seating to park benches. The BLS index for metal outdoor and casual furniture, including beach, lawn, garden and porch furniture, was discontinued after December 2017.

The indexes are not seasonally adjusted. This article compares August with August to keep the same month on both sides.

The comparison between material and furniture indexes in this article compares price changes. It does not measure how much aluminum, steel, lumber or resin goes into a piece of furniture.

Steel | Commercial Outdoor Furniture

Institutional furniture prices rose 5.1% in the year to August 2026 while aluminum rose 27.3%

What the index covers

Materials rose faster

Demand from hotels and restaurants

What this means for a furniture order

Caveats