Escalation Clauses in the Tariff Era: How to Price Materials You Haven't Bought Yet Every bid you submit is a promise about prices you do not control yet. In a stable market that is a manageable risk. In 2026 it is the single fastest way to hand back your margin. Consider what steel has done this year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index for steel mill products sat at 291.6 in November 2025. By July 2026 it had reached 374.2. That is a 28 percent increase in e