Between the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March/April 2020 and mid-May 2021, lumber prices have risen an incredible 308% according to Yahoo News. Steel prices have also risen over 60% according to Trading Economics. These increases, among others, led the Associated General Contractors of America to issue a construction inflation alert, something that the group had not done since 2008. While the reasons for the price increases are too numerous for this article, the question remains: how can construction industry participants minimize the risk of ever-increasing prices?