Tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper have risen to 50% under Section 232 for covered metal products, while many derivative products face a 25% rate. Certain derivative products, including some stationary industrial machinery and electrical equipment, are subject to a temporarily reduced rate of 15%. While qualifying capital equipment with at least 85% US-sourced steel or aluminum can qualify for a 10% rate. The rate regime continues to evolve, adding another layer of uncertainty to contractors’ pricing plans.
This volatility is manifested in material costs. The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that aluminum mill forms rose 40.5% year-on-year in July, while copper and brass mill forms rose 18.4% and non-ferrous wire and cable rose 12.2%. Steel products also remained high.
This means that a quote with a price from a few months ago may no longer reflect what these materials actually cost at the time the project starts. This gap is pushing contractors to consider price escalation provisions and other ways to protect bids against material cost increases. The Bureau of Labor Statistics it even provides guidance for contracts that use producer price indexes to adjust for changes in material costs.
The problem is not that material costs are changing. It’s just that our rate of estimation has not always been built to move forward with them.
A replacement decision begins with a take-off question
When a contractor considers changing a specified steel section, mechanical unit, or finish to protect a bid, the first thing he needs is an accurate answer: how much of the original material is actually being used and what the replacement would cost today. This starts with a take-off and estimate question.
The replacement itself may require design review, approval, availability checks and other considerations. But without a reliable understanding of quantities and cost, the contractor cannot assess the financial impact of the change.
Manual takeoff and estimating workflows were already a capacity constraint before fees became a factor. With volatile material prices, they also become an accuracy limitation.
An estimate based on a material rate even a few weeks in advance can misstate the cost of a replacement meant to protect the supply in the first place.
The speed estimate determines whether an offer reflects reality
A 2026 survey conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America and Sage found that 53% of contractors identified material costs as a major concern for the year. This is a signal to the entire industry that the numbers below a bid are no longer something contractors can consider settled once takeoff is complete.
The faster an estimate can be reproduced with up-to-date material prices, the more it protects the supply it has to support. A team that relies on manual remeasurement and manual price searches is, in effect, deciding how often it can afford to check its own numbers.
Under normal conditions, this compromise might have been somewhat manageable. With material prices fluctuating rapidly amid tariffs and other market pressures, it is a greater source of risk than before.
This is where automated takeoffs change the calculus
Automated take-off and estimating tools do not remove the volatility of underlying costs. They change how quickly a contractor can respond.
That’s the problem to solve for Beam AI, Attentive.ai’s AI-based estimating and takeoff software. Contractors using it can rerun a takeoff and update an estimate with the revised material price in a fraction of the time it takes a manual process. When considering a replacement to handle a rate-related cost increase, this speed can mean the difference between a decision based on updated pricing and one based on a rate that was accurate weeks earlier.
The same ability that allows them to offer more work also allows them to quickly revise that work when the assumptions of an offer change.
The estimate must keep pace with the market it estimates
The rate regime continues to evolve and contractors will continue to adjust bids and specifications in response. This makes estimation speed and accuracy more important, not less.
Contractors who manage this well are those who can re-price a bid quickly enough so that the number they’re working with still reflects the market they’re actually building in.
