The December 11 report on inflation brought good news for the construction industry - the rate of inflation is slowing - and bad news - price increases are starting to show up in bids. November's producer price index for construction inputs was 5.3% higher than a year before. That's down from the 9% growth in May and 7% growth in Sept-Oct. The index for finished construction demand moved up to 5.1% higher year-over-year. And the indexes for major categories of building types were up between 4.1% and 6.4%. The upward movement in these finished types is an indication that higher prices and labor tightness are being reflected in bid prices, which wasn't the case earlier in 2018.