Import prices rise again, adding cost pressure for Home Depot stores

Higher import prices are beginning to show up in the places Home Depot associates handle every day: freight-sensitive seasonal goods, branded products and value conversations at the shelf edge. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said U.S. import prices rose 1.9% in May after a 2.0% increase in April, with import fuel prices up 12.5% and nonfuel import prices up 0.8%.

The year-over-year numbers were even starker. Import prices were up 6.7% from a year earlier, while export prices climbed 11.2%. BLS said the rise was broad enough to reach capital goods, nonfuel industrial supplies and materials, and consumer goods excluding autos, a mix that matters to a retailer like Home Depot because it buys through global sourcing channels and sells many items tied to freight, commodity and packaging costs.

For store teams, that pressure does not stay on a spreadsheet for long. It can change how vendors support promotions, how much depth lands in seasonal assortments, and which items get pushed as the best value when customers start comparing an aisle full of similar products. On the floor, associates are often the first to hear whether a price change feels temporary, whether a house brand is the smarter buy, or whether a slightly different spec will still get the job done for a contractor on a deadline.

Home Depot’s size gives it room to absorb some of that pressure, but not all of it. The company said in its first-quarter fiscal 2026 results on May 19 that sales reached $41.8 billion, up 4.8% from a year earlier, with comparable sales up 0.6% overall and 0.4% in the U.S. It also reaffirmed fiscal 2026 guidance. Investor materials say the company has more than 2,300 stores across the U.S., Canada and Mexico and fiscal 2025 net sales of $164.7 billion.

Executives have already been signaling the strain behind the scenes. Home Depot has said it was watching fuel prices, interest rates and tariffs as cost factors, and Reuters reported in May 2025 that the company said it would keep prices unchanged despite U.S. tariffs. Richard McPhail also said Home Depot was working so that, within 12 months, no single country outside the U.S. would represent more than 10% of purchases. CNBC reported that the company’s core consumer remained engaged even with higher gas prices and weaker consumer confidence.

Taken together, the import-price data point to a retail environment where cost pressure may show up selectively, not everywhere at once. For Home Depot associates and managers, that means more attention to substitutions, inventory timing and the value story at the shelf edge, especially when customers are trying to stretch a project budget without slowing down the job.