FOR DATA ONLY: (202) 691-5200 USDL 04-587 FOR TECHNICAL INFORMATION: TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL IN (202) 691-7705 THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED MEDIA CONTACT: (202) 691-5902 UNTIL 8:30 A.M. (EST), THURSDAY, http://www.bls.gov/ppi APRIL 1, 2004 Producer Price Indexes -- February 2004 The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today that the Producer Price Index for Finished Goods edged up 0.1 percent in February, seasonally adjusted. This increase followed a 0.6- percent jump in January and a 0.2-percent increase in December. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods rose 0.9 percent in February, after advancing 0.8 percent in January. The crude goods index increased 2.5 percent, compared with a 2.8-percent rise in the prior month. (See table A.) Table A. Monthly and annual percent changes in selected stage-of-processing price indexes, seasonally adjusted ______________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | | Finished goods | | | | | | | | | |---------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | Change in | | | | | | | | Except |finished goods| Inter- | | | | | | |foods and|from 12 months| mediate | Crude | | Month | Total | Foods | Energy | energy | ago(unadj.) | goods | goods | |--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 2003 Feb. 1.2 0.4 7.4 -0.1 3.3 1.9 5.2 Mar. 1.3 .3 4.8 .6 4.0 2.1 13.2 Apr. -1.5 .8 -7.2 -.5 2.4 -2.3 -15.8 May -.4 .1 -3.1 .1 2.5 -.7 1.5 June .6 .4 2.9 0 2.9 .6 4.3 July .1 -.3 .5 .1 3.0 .2 -2.8 Aug. .5 .8 1.4 .1 3.5 .6 -1.0 Sept. .2 1.2 -.1 0 3.5 -.1 2.7 Oct. r .6 r 2.0 r -.4 .5 3.4 .3 r 2.8 Nov. r -.1 r -.2 r -.8 0 3.4 -.1 r .4 Dec. .2 .1 1.6 -.1 4.0 .4 2.2 2004 Jan. .6 -1.4 4.7 .3 3.3 .8 2.8 Feb. .1 .2 .2 .1 2.1 .9 2.5 r=revised. Some of the figures shown above and elsewhere in this release may differ from those previously reported because data for October 2003 have been revised to reflect the availability of late reports and corrections by respondents. -2- Among finished goods, the rate of increase in the index for finished energy goods slowed to 0.2 percent in February from 4.7 percent in January. Prices for finished goods other than foods and energy edged up 0.1 percent in February, after rising 0.3 percent in the preceding month. By contrast, the finished consumer foods index turned up 0.2 percent, following a 1.4- percent drop in January. Before seasonal adjustment, the Producer Price Index for Finished Goods decreased 0.1 percent to 145.3 (1982=100). From February 2003 to February 2004, finished goods prices rose 2.1 percent. During the same period, the indexes for finished energy goods, finished consumer foods, and finished goods other than foods and energy moved up 3.9, 4.0, and 1.0 percent, respectively. At the earlier stages of processing, prices for intermediate goods increased 2.7 percent for the 12 months ended in February 2004, while the index for crude goods rose 10.7 percent. Finished goods Prices for finished energy goods increased 0.2 percent in February, after advancing 4.7 percent in the prior month. The rate of increase in the gasoline index slowed to 2.0 percent in February from 14.1 percent in January. Prices for home heating oil, liquefied petroleum gas, and diesel fuel turned down, compared with increases in the previous month. On the other hand, the index for residential natural gas rose 2.6 percent in February, after posting a 1.4-percent increase in January. The rate of increase for residential electric power prices picked up in February, advancing 0.4 percent compared with a 0.1-percent rise in the prior month. Table B. Monthly and annual percent changes in selected price indexes for intermediate goods and crude goods, seasonally adjusted __________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | Intermediate goods | Crude goods | | | | | | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | |Change in | | | | Change | | | | | | interme- | | | |in crude | | | | | | diate | | | | goods | | | | | |goods from| | | | from 12 | | | | | Except |12 months | | | Except | months | | | | |foods and| ago | | Energy |foods and| ago | |Month | Foods | Energy | energy | (unadj.) | Foods | (unadj.)| energy |(unadj.) | |----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 2003 Feb. 0.8 7.7 0.7 6.6 0.6 9.9 3.6 36.7 Mar. -.2 10.0 .3 8.0 -1.3 30.1 -.2 46.8 Apr. .2 -10.9 -.2 4.6 1.4 -30.7 -1.2 18.2 May 1.2 -4.2 .1 4.2 1.9 1.9 -.1 19.1 June 1.8 3.1 0 4.5 -.8 10.5 .2 29.1 July -.9 1.5 -.1 4.4 -2.5 -4.8 1.9 24.2 Aug. .2 2.4 .1 4.4 3.7 -6.1 2.0 20.8 Sept. 2.7 -2.0 .2 3.7 7.0 -1.1 2.7 21.5 Oct. r 2.7 r -.2 .3 3.4 r 8.5 r -2.8 r 3.0 r 22.6 Nov. r 2.6 r -1.8 .2 3.3 r -.2 r -.5 r 3.6 18.3 Dec. -.5 1.8 .1 3.9 -.2 4.3 3.0 18.5 2004 Jan. -1.0 2.7 .6 3.8 -6.9 12.5 3.3 13.7 Feb. .2 .6 .9 2.7 3.6 0 5.5 10.7 r=revised. Some of the figures shown above and elsewhere in this release may differ from those previously reported because data for October 2003 have been revised to reflect the availability of late reports and corrections by respondents. -3- The index for finished goods other than foods and energy increased 0.1 percent, following a 0.3-percent increase in January. In February, rising prices for passenger car pneumatic tires, alcoholic beverages, passenger cars, surgical appliances, railroad cars, and industrial material handling equipment slightly outweighed falling prices for light motor trucks, communication and related equipment, pharmaceutical preparations, and household appliances. Prices for finished consumer foods turned up 0.2 percent in February, after declining 1.4 percent in the prior month. In February, increasing prices for processed young chickens, eggs for fresh use, dairy products, and pork outweighed falling prices for fresh and dry vegetables, beef and veal, fresh fruits and melons, and finfish and shellfish. Intermediate goods The Producer Price Index for Intermediate Materials, Supplies, and Components advanced 0.9 percent in February, after registering a 0.8- percent increase in the previous month. Prices for materials for durable manufacturing, materials and components for construction, intermediate energy goods, materials for nondurable manufacturing, and intermediate foods and feeds rose. Excluding food and energy prices, the index for intermediate materials went up 0.9 percent, following a 0.6-percent gain in January. (See table B.) Prices for materials for durable manufacturing climbed 3.5 percent in February, compared with a 1.0-percent gain in the preceding month. The cold rolled steel sheet and strip index jumped 12.4 percent, after moving up 0.4 percent a month earlier. Prices for primary nonferrous metals; hot rolled steel bars, plates, and structural shapes; and semifinished steel mill products also increased at a quicker rate than they did in January. The indexes for building paper and board, aluminum mill shapes, and plywood turned up, following declines in the prior month. On the other hand, prepared paint prices fell 0.3 percent in February, after rising 0.4 percent in the previous month. The indexes for hardwood lumber, cold finished steel bars, and copper and brass mill shapes rose less than they did in January, while prices for industrial textile products showed no change in February, after advancing a month earlier. The index for materials and components for construction moved up 1.4 percent in February, following a 0.3-percent increase in the prior month. Plywood prices surged 15.2 percent, after falling 9.1 percent a month earlier. The indexes for mineral wool for structural insulation and gypsum products also turned up in February, following declines in the previous month. Prices for fabricated structural metal products, concrete products, softwood lumber, and steel mill products rose more than they did in January. By contrast, the plastic construction products index moved down 1.4 percent in February, compared with a 1.0-percent gain in the preceding month. Prices for architectural coatings and molded case circuit breakers also turned down, after advancing in January. The indexes for millwork and hardwood lumber rose less than they did in the previous month. Price increases for intermediate energy goods slowed from 2.7 percent in January to 0.6 percent in February. Half of this deceleration was due to the index for gasoline, which rose 2.0 percent after jumping 14.1 percent in the previous month. Prices for jet fuels also rose more slowly in February. The indexes for diesel fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, and home heating oil turned down, following gains a month earlier. Alternatively, the natural gas to electric utilities index advanced 4.4 percent in February, compared with a 6.2-percent drop in the prior month. The indexes for commercial electric power, commercial natural gas, and industrial electric power also turned up, after falling in January, while industrial natural gas prices increased more in February than they did in the preceding month. -4- The index for materials for nondurable manufacturing rose 0.7 percent in February, following a 1.3-percent gain in the prior month. This deceleration largely reflects smaller price increases for basic organic chemicals, which rose 0.8 percent in February after posting a 6.0-percent increase in January. The leather index also advanced at a slower rate than it did in the preceding month. Prices for processed yarns and threads showed no change, following a gain in the previous month. The finished fabrics index fell, after inching up in January. On the other hand, paper prices turned up 0.6 percent in February, after decreasing 0.8 percent a month earlier. The indexes for paint materials and fertilizer materials also advanced, following declines in the preceding month, while prices for paperboard fell less than they did in January. The intermediate foods and feeds index turned up 0.2 percent in February, after falling 1.0 percent in the prior month. In February, rising prices for processed young chickens; flour; pork; natural, processed, and imitation cheese; butter, and liquid milk products outweighed falling prices for beef and veal, prepared animal feeds, shortening and cooking oils, confectionery materials, and fluid milk products. Crude goods The Producer Price Index for Crude Materials for Further Processing advanced at a 2.5-percent rate in February, after posting a 2.8-percent gain in January. Prices for crude energy materials showed no change in February, after rising in the prior month. By contrast, the index for crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs turned up, after falling in January, while prices for basic industrial materials increased at a faster pace in February than they did in the prior month. (See table B.) The index for crude energy materials showed no change in February, following a 12.5-percent rise in the preceding month. Natural gas prices moved down 0.6 percent, after jumping 17.8 percent a month earlier. The index for crude petroleum declined 1.9 percent, compared with an 8.1- percent gain in January. On the other hand, coal prices went up 8.7 percent in February, after registering a 1.6-percent drop in the prior month. The index for crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs advanced 3.6 percent in February, following a 6.9-percent decrease in the previous month. Prices for slaughter broilers and fryers rose 19.8 percent, compared with a 2.6- percent decline in January. The indexes for slaughter hogs and fluid milk also turned up, after declining a month earlier. The indexes for slaughter cattle, fresh vegetables (except potatoes), and alfalfa hay decreased at a slower rate than they did in the prior month. Alternatively, slaughter turkey prices fell 2.0 percent in February, following a 9.5-percent gain in the preceding month. The unprocessed finfish index also turned down, following increases in January, while prices for wheat and fresh fruits and melons declined more in February than they did in the prior month. The index for crude nonfood materials less energy increased 5.5 percent in February, after moving up 3.3 percent a month earlier. Accounting for the majority of this acceleration, iron and steel scrap prices grew 21.1 percent, following a 5.7-percent gain in the preceding month. The indexes for copper base scrap, wastepaper, and phosphates also advanced at a faster rate than they did in January. By contrast, raw cotton prices dropped 12.0 percent in February, after registering a 6.8- percent increase in the previous month. The indexes for gold ores; hides and skins; and construction, sand, gravel, and crushed stone also turned down, following gains in the prior month. Aluminum base scrap prices rose less than they did in January, while the index for leaf tobacco fell more in February than it did a month earlier. -5- Net output price indexes for mining, manufacturing, and services industries Mining. The Producer Price Index for the Net Output of Total Mining Industries fell 1.5 percent in February, following an 11.3-percent jump in January. (Net output price indexes are not seasonally adjusted.) Prices received by the crude petroleum and natural gas extraction industry declined 3.0 percent, after advancing 16.0 percent in the prior month. The industry indexes for natural gas liquid extraction, oil and gas operations support activities, gold ore mining, and oil and gas well drilling also turned down in February, compared with increases a month earlier. Conversely, prices received by the industry for bituminous coal and lignite surface mining turned up 3.5 percent, following a 2.4-percent drop in January. In February, the Producer Price Index for the Net Output of Total Mining Industries was 139.5 (December 1984=100), 1.5 percent above its year ago level. Manufacturing. The Producer Price Index for the Net Output of Total Manufacturing Industries increased 0.3 percent in February, after rising 0.9 percent in the previous month. Prices received by the chemical manufacturing industry group moved up 0.4 percent, compared with a 1.0- percent gain in the preceding month. The industry group indexes for petroleum and coal products, textile mills, leather and allied products, and transportation equipment fell, after rising in January. Prices received by the beverage and tobacco industry group advanced at slower rate from January to February. By contrast, the industry group index for food manufacturing edged up 0.3 percent in February, after registering a 1.0- percent decline a month earlier. The industry group index for furniture and related products also turned up, following a decline in January. Prices received by the industry groups for plastics and rubber products and for nonmetallic mineral products rose, after showing no change a month earlier. In February, the Producer Price Index for the Net Output of Total Manufacturing Industries was 139.3 (December 1984=100), 1.2 percent above its year ago level. Services. Among service industries in February, prices received by offices of lawyers, long-distance general freight trucking (truckload), direct property and casualty insurance carriers, offices of physicians (except mental health), passenger car rental, and scheduled passenger air transportation increased. On the other hand, the indexes for lessors of nonresidential buildings (except miniwarehouse), wired telecommunications carriers, general medical and surgical hospitals, cellular and other wireless carriers, deep sea freight transportation, and couriers declined in February. ***** The Producer Price Index data for February 2004 in this release were originally scheduled for release on March 12, 2004. The date of release for the March 2004 Producer Price Index data, originally scheduled for April 8, 2004, will be announced as soon as possible. Table 1. Producer price indexes and percent changes by stage of processing (1982=100) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | |Unadjusted | | | | percent |Seasonally adjusted | Relative | Unadjusted index |change to |percent change from: Grouping |importance| |Feb. 2004 from:| | |_______________________|_______________|___________________________ | Dec. | | | | | | | | | |Oct. |Jan. |Feb. | Feb. | Jan. |Nov. to|Dec. to |Jan. to | 2003 1/|2003 2/|2004 2/|2004 2/| 2003 | 2004 | Dec. | Jan. | Feb. _________________________________________________|__________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_________|_________ | Finished goods...................................| 100.000 145.5 145.4 145.3 2.1 -0.1 0.2 0.6 0.1 Finished consumer goods........................| 74.351 147.8 147.7 147.6 2.5 -.1 .3 .7 .1 Finished consumer foods......................| 21.479 151.0 148.0 148.0 4.0 0 .1 -1.4 .2 Crude......................................| 1.727 135.5 138.1 131.5 11.9 -4.8 10.0 -8.3 -2.2 Processed..................................| 19.752 152.2 148.8 149.3 3.5 .3 -.7 -.8 .3 Finished consumer goods, excluding foods.....| 52.872 146.2 147.2 147.1 1.9 -.1 .4 1.6 .1 Nondurable goods less foods................| 36.806 149.4 151.3 151.3 2.3 0 .7 2.1 .2 Durable goods..............................| 16.066 135.6 134.7 134.3 .9 -.3 -.4 .4 -.2 Capital equipment..............................| 25.649 140.8 140.8 140.8 1.1 0 -.1 .3 0 Manufacturing industries.....................| 7.020 140.3 140.8 141.1 .9 .2 .1 .3 .2 Nonmanufacturing industries..................| 18.629 140.9 140.7 140.6 1.2 -.1 -.2 .4 -.1 | Intermediate materials, supplies, and components.| 100.000 134.1 136.1 137.1 2.7 .7 .4 .8 .9 Materials and components for manufacturing.....| 46.863 130.5 131.8 133.2 2.9 1.1 .2 .5 1.1 Materials for food manufacturing.............| 2.953 141.8 138.5 138.9 7.2 .3 -.5 -1.6 .4 Materials for nondurable manufacturing.......| 14.501 137.2 140.2 141.1 2.2 .6 .4 1.3 .7 Materials for durable manufacturing..........| 9.501 129.6 132.3 137.0 8.0 3.6 .5 1.0 3.5 Components for manufacturing.................| 19.908 125.8 125.9 126.2 .3 .2 0 .2 .2 Materials and components for construction......| 12.896 155.2 155.9 158.3 4.1 1.5 -.1 .3 1.4 Processed fuels and lubricants.................| 16.959 111.5 116.5 116.3 2.4 -.2 1.9 2.7 .7 Manufacturing industries ....................| 6.835 115.6 119.5 119.5 5.3 0 0 1.6 1.0 Nonmanufacturing industries..................| 10.125 109.0 114.6 114.3 .5 -.3 3.2 3.4 .4 Containers.....................................| 3.160 153.2 153.9 153.8 .1 -.1 -.1 .3 -.1 Supplies.......................................| 20.122 141.9 143.3 143.8 2.2 .3 0 .4 .3 Manufacturing industries.....................| 4.388 146.7 147.0 147.4 1.2 .3 .1 .1 .2 Nonmanufacturing industries..................| 15.733 139.5 141.2 141.7 2.5 .4 .1 .5 .4 Feeds......................................| 1.226 109.4 118.0 117.5 15.0 -.4 -.6 .4 -.2 Other supplies.............................| 14.508 143.3 144.3 145.0 1.5 .5 .1 .6 .4 | Crude materials for further processing...........| 100.000 138.0 144.7 148.3 10.7 2.5 2.2 2.8 2.5 Foodstuffs and feedstuffs......................| 40.157 128.1 116.8 121.0 13.8 3.6 -.2 -6.9 3.6 Nonfood materials..............................| 59.843 141.1 162.1 164.9 8.7 1.7 3.9 9.3 1.9 Nonfood materials except fuel 3/.............| 33.319 119.4 131.3 134.7 10.5 2.6 2.9 5.0 2.7 Manufacturing 3/...........................| 32.700 109.8 120.9 124.1 10.6 2.6 3.0 5.1 2.7 Construction...............................| 0.619 182.3 186.0 187.5 3.5 .8 1.3 .8 .5 Crude fuel 4/................................| 26.524 163.3 197.6 199.2 6.8 .8 5.1 14.8 .8 Manufacturing industries...................| 2.383 155.8 187.3 189.3 6.9 1.1 4.9 14.3 1.1 Nonmanufacturing industries................| 24.141 167.0 202.1 203.7 6.8 .8 5.1 14.8 .8 | Special groupings | | Finished goods, excluding foods..................|5/ 78.521 143.8 144.5 144.4 1.6 -.1 .2 1.2 .1 Intermediate materials less foods and feeds......|6/ 95.822 134.3 136.4 137.4 2.4 .7 .4 1.0 .9 Intermediate foods and feeds.....................|6/ 4.178 131.9 132.4 132.5 9.3 .1 -.5 -1.0 .2 Crude materials less agricultural products 3/ 7/.|8/ 57.867 142.4 164.0 167.4 8.8 2.1 4.1 9.6 2.1 | Finished energy goods............................|5/ 15.875 103.2 106.2 105.7 3.9 -.5 1.6 4.7 .2 Finished goods less energy.......................|5/ 84.125 151.4 150.5 150.5 1.8 0 0 -.2 .1 Finished consumer goods less energy..............|5/ 58.476 156.1 154.7 154.7 2.0 0 -.1 -.3 .1 | Finished goods less foods and energy.............|5/ 62.646 152.0 151.7 151.7 1.0 0 -.1 .3 .1 Finished consumer goods less foods and energy....|5/ 36.997 159.5 159.1 159.1 1.0 0 -.1 .3 0 Consumer nondurable goods less foods and energy..|5/ 20.931 178.6 178.6 179.1 1.0 .3 0 .2 .2 | Intermediate energy goods........................|6/ 17.360 110.7 115.5 115.3 1.9 -.2 1.8 2.7 .6 Intermediate materials less energy...............|6/ 82.640 138.5 139.7 141.0 2.8 .9 .1 .5 .9 Intermediate materials less foods and energy.....|6/ 78.462 139.0 140.3 141.6 2.5 .9 .1 .6 .9 | Crude energy materials 3/........................|8/ 39.397 134.3 156.7 156.7 1.8 0 4.3 12.5 0 Crude materials less energy......................|8/ 60.603 135.9 132.5 138.2 18.2 4.3 .9 -3.5 4.3 Crude nonfood materials less energy 4/...........|8/ 20.446 159.5 177.5 187.2 26.2 5.5 3.0 3.3 5.5 | ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1/ Comprehensive relative importance figures are initially computed 4/ Excludes crude petroleum. after the publication of December indexes and are recalculated 5/ Percent of total finished goods. after final December indexes are available. 6/ Percent of total intermediate materials. 2/ The indexes for October 2003 have been recalculated to incorporate 7/ Formerly titled "Crude materials for late reports and corrections by respondents. All indexes further processing, excluding crude are subject to revision 4 months after original publication. foodstuffs and feedstuffs, plant and 3/ Includes crude petroleum. animal fibers, oilseeds, and leaf tobacco." 8/ Percent of total crude materials. Table 2. Producer price indexes and percent changes for selected commodity groupings by stage of processing (1982=100 unless otherwise indicated) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | |Unadjusted | | | | percent |Seasonally adjusted | | Unadjusted index |change to |percent change from: Commodity | | |Feb. 2004 from:| code | Grouping |_______________________|_______________|________________________ | | | | | | | | | | |Oct. |Jan. |Feb. | Feb. | Jan. |Nov. to|Dec. to|Jan. to | |2003 1/|2004 1/|2004 1/| 2003 | 2004 | Dec. | Jan. | Feb. ___________|_______________________________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|________ | | |FINISHED GOODS.........................................| 145.5 145.4 145.3 2.1 -0.1 0.2 0.6 0.1 | FINISHED CONSUMER GOODS...............................| 147.8 147.7 147.6 2.5 -.1 .3 .7 .1 | FINISHED CONSUMER FOODS..............................| 151.0 148.0 148.0 4.0 0 .1 -1.4 .2 | | 01-11 | Fresh fruits and melons 2/..........................| 90.1 96.6 89.8 11.7 -7.0 6.8 -2.0 -7.0 01-13 | Fresh and dry vegetables 2/.........................| 137.8 124.6 114.9 -3.3 -7.8 20.7 -20.9 -7.8 01-71-07 | Eggs for fresh use (Dec. 1991=100)..................| 119.3 130.0 130.4 45.1 .3 .7 -2.4 11.5 02-11 | Bakery products 2/..................................| 195.3 195.3 195.3 0 0 -.1 .2 0 02-13 | Milled rice 2/......................................| 115.1 124.9 129.3 47.1 3.5 1.9 2.4 3.5 02-14-02 | Pasta products (June 1985=100) 2/...................| 126.9 126.7 126.6 .3 -.1 -.2 .1 -.1 02-21-01 | Beef and veal 2/....................................| 165.1 133.9 130.8 3.7 -2.3 -5.6 -11.0 -2.3 02-21-04 | Pork................................................| 120.9 114.5 120.1 9.3 4.9 -.9 1.2 3.1 02-22-03 | Processed young chickens............................| 125.7 132.7 142.3 25.4 7.2 1.5 4.3 7.3 02-22-06 | Processed turkeys...................................| 97.6 99.1 101.1 13.9 2.0 3.5 4.9 3.6 02-23 | Finfish and shellfish...............................| 190.5 208.8 206.9 7.4 -.9 2.9 8.3 -1.1 02-3 | Dairy products......................................| 147.8 141.5 142.2 6.0 .5 -.7 -.6 1.3 02-4 | Processed fruits and vegetables 2/..................| 134.0 133.5 133.7 -.1 .1 -.1 .1 .1 02-55 | Confectionery end products 2/.......................| 184.9 185.9 186.1 2.0 .1 .2 .2 .1 02-62 | Soft drinks 2/......................................| 153.8 155.5 155.3 1.6 -.1 -.7 1.9 -.1 02-63-01 | Roasted coffee 2/...................................| 127.9 128.0 127.8 .2 -.2 .1 0 -.2 02-78 | Shortening and cooking oils 2/......................| 171.3 194.8 192.3 25.7 -1.3 4.6 7.8 -1.3 | | | FINISHED CONSUMER GOODS EXCLUDING FOODS..............| 146.2 147.2 147.1 1.9 -.1 .4 1.6 .1 | | 02-61 | Alcoholic beverages.................................| 150.0 148.5 149.7 1.8 .8 .1 .1 .8 03-81-06 | Women's, girls', & infants' apparel (12/03=100) 2/..| (3) 100.0 100.0 (3) 0 (3) 0 0 03-81-07 | Men's and boys' apparel (Dec. 2003=100) 2/..........| (3) 100.0 99.8 (3) -.2 (3) 0 -.2 03-82 | Textile housefurnishings 2/.........................| 122.4 123.2 123.2 .7 0 0 .7 0 04-3 | Footwear 2/.........................................| 146.0 147.6 149.4 1.8 1.2 -.1 -.2 1.2 05-41 | Residential electric power (Dec. 1990=100)..........| 121.1 118.6 118.8 4.8 .2 .5 .1 .4 05-51 | Residential gas (Dec. 1990=100).....................| 169.8 178.1 177.7 16.3 -.2 -.5 1.4 2.6 05-71 | Gasoline............................................| 102.7 108.1 111.1 -1.3 2.8 3.4 14.1 2.0 05-73-02-01| Home heating oil and distillates....................| 94.1 104.4 97.7 -16.4 -6.4 6.2 16.8 -7.7 06-38 | Pharmaceutical preparations (June 2001=100) 2/......| 108.6 109.2 109.0 3.2 -.2 .2 .6 -.2 06-71 | Soaps and synthetic detergents 2/...................| 132.3 131.4 131.4 -.4 0 -.1 0 0 06-75 | Cosmetics and other toilet preparations 2/..........| 140.6 140.6 140.7 .6 .1 0 0 .1 07-12 | Tires, tubes, tread, etc 2/.........................| 98.7 98.7 102.6 5.0 4.0 -.2 0 4.0 09-15-01 | Sanitary paper products 2/..........................| 150.4 150.2 150.4 -.3 .1 -.1 0 .1 09-31-01 | Newspaper circulation 2/............................| 232.3 232.5 232.7 1.3 .1 0 .1 .1 09-32-01 | Periodical circulation..............................| 219.3 223.9 225.0 2.2 .5 -.6 .9 0 09-33 | Book publishing.....................................| 244.5 251.2 249.9 4.0 -.5 .6 1.5 0 12-1 | Household furniture.................................| 158.4 158.1 159.1 .8 .6 .1 -.1 .5 12-3 | Floor coverings 2/..................................| 135.0 131.1 131.5 .7 .3 -2.1 -.7 .3 12-4 | Household appliances 2/.............................| 102.0 102.0 101.5 -1.5 -.5 .1 .1 -.5 12-5 | Home electronic equipment 2/........................| 67.2 67.1 67.2 -1.5 .1 0 -.1 .1 12-62 | Household glassware.................................| 169.1 169.4 168.5 -.4 -.5 .1 .5 -.7 12-64 | Household flatware 2/...............................| 145.2 145.2 (3) (3) (3) 0 0 (3) 12-66 | Lawn and garden equip., ex. tractors 2/.............| 133.2 133.8 133.9 .4 .1 0 -.1 .1 14-11-01 | Passenger cars......................................| 133.6 131.8 131.6 1.5 -.2 -.1 .6 .2 15-11 | Toys, games, and children's vehicles 2/.............| 124.5 124.5 124.5 -.6 0 0 0 0 15-12 | Sporting and athletic goods 2/......................| 123.6 124.4 125.0 -.1 .5 -.2 .6 .5 15-2 | Tobacco products 2/.................................| 432.8 434.5 434.7 .3 0 .2 .2 0 15-5 | Mobile homes .......................................| 173.0 172.6 172.6 3.5 0 .1 .2 .2 15-94-02 | Jewelry, platinum, & karat gold 2/..................| 132.9 134.6 134.5 1.7 -.1 .4 .6 -.1 15-94-04 | Costume jewelry and novelties 2/....................| 145.4 145.4 145.4 .8 0 0 0 0 | | | CAPITAL EQUIPMENT.....................................| 140.8 140.8 140.8 1.1 0 -.1 .3 0 | | 11-1 | Agricultural machinery and equipment 2/.............| 162.0 162.5 162.7 1.7 .1 0 .4 .1 11-2 | Construction machinery and equipment 2/.............| 153.4 154.8 155.3 1.6 .3 .1 .8 .3 11-37 | Metal cutting machine tools 2/......................| 150.5 149.7 149.3 -.8 -.3 -.1 -.2 -.3 11-38 | Metal forming machine tools 2/......................| 167.8 168.0 170.1 1.7 1.3 0 .1 1.3 11-39 | Tools, dies, jigs, fixtures, and ind. molds 2/......| 139.5 140.7 140.4 .4 -.2 0 .9 -.2 11-41 | Pumps, compressors, and equipment...................| 163.6 164.8 165.1 1.7 .2 0 .5 .2 11-44 | Industrial material handling equipment 2/...........| 138.2 138.6 139.8 1.7 .9 0 .3 .9 11-51 | Electronic computers (Dec. 1998=100) 2/.............| 32.7 31.7 31.4 -11.5 -.9 -1.9 -.3 -.9 11-62 | Textile machinery 2/................................| 157.7 157.9 157.9 0 0 0 .1 0 11-64 | Paper industries machinery (June 1982=100) 2/.......| 170.3 170.5 170.9 .4 .2 0 .1 .2 11-65 | Printing trades machinery 2/........................| 143.5 143.3 143.2 .4 -.1 -.1 .1 -.1 11-74 | Transformers and power regulators 2/................| 132.1 132.2 132.5 .8 .2 0 .1 .2 11-76 | Communication & related equip. (Dec. 1985=100) 2/...| 104.9 105.0 104.8 -.9 -.2 0 -.1 -.2 11-79-05 | X-ray and electromedical equipment 2/...............| 99.8 98.0 98.3 -2.6 .3 -.1 -1.5 .3 11-91 | Oil field and gas field machinery ..................| 140.6 141.2 141.3 2.5 .1 .4 -.7 .3 11-92 | Mining machinery and equipment 2/...................| 155.4 157.2 157.6 1.7 .3 .7 .5 .3 11-93 | Office and store machines and equipment 2/..........| 112.9 113.2 113.3 1.2 .1 0 0 .1 12-2 | Commercial furniture 2/.............................| 162.6 162.5 162.5 .1 0 .1 -.4 0 14-11-05 | Light motor trucks..................................| 158.9 154.8 152.4 .5 -1.6 -1.7 1.1 -1.9 14-11-06 | Heavy motor trucks 2/...............................| 154.5 157.2 157.9 1.6 .4 .3 1.5 .4 14-14 | Truck trailers 2/...................................| 139.7 141.6 141.7 2.5 .1 0 1.4 .1 14-21-02 | Civilian aircraft (Dec. 1985=100)...................| 184.5 185.3 185.3 6.1 0 .2 .4 .1 14-31 | Ships (Dec. 1985=100) 2/............................| 162.9 159.7 164.9 4.2 3.3 0 .4 3.3 14-4 | Railroad equipment 2/...............................| 137.2 137.7 140.3 3.6 1.9 .1 0 1.9 | | |INTERMEDIATE MATERIALS, SUPPLIES, AND COMPONENTS.......| 134.1 136.1 137.1 2.7 .7 .4 .8 .9 | | | INTERMEDIATE FOODS AND FEEDS..........................| 131.9 132.4 132.5 9.3 .1 -.5 -1.0 .2 | | 02-12-03 | Flour 2/............................................| 120.1 127.6 131.2 5.3 2.8 1.8 -.2 2.8 02-53 | Refined sugar and byproducts 2/.....................| 121.8 119.2 118.8 -2.4 -.3 .4 -1.8 -.3 02-54 | Confectionery materials 2/..........................| 122.1 124.7 122.5 -4.7 -1.8 .7 .4 -1.8 02-72 | Crude vegetable oils 2/.............................| 123.8 (3) (3) (3) (3) -1.7 (3) (3) 02-9 | Prepared animal feeds 2/............................| 115.5 122.5 121.9 11.8 -.5 -.4 .2 -.5 | | | INTERMEDIATE MATERIALS LESS FOODS AND FEEDS...........| 134.3 136.4 137.4 2.4 .7 .4 1.0 .9 | | 03-1 | Synthetic fibers 2/.................................| 106.0 105.4 104.9 -1.3 -.5 -.2 -.3 -.5 03-2 | Processed yarns and threads 2/......................| 103.4 107.0 107.0 4.3 0 .9 1.5 0 03-3 | Gray fabrics 2/.....................................| 111.3 111.0 111.3 .4 .3 -.5 .4 .3 03-4 | Finished fabrics 2/.................................| 121.1 121.0 120.3 -.1 -.6 -.2 .1 -.6 03-83-03 | Industrial textile products 2/......................| 130.2 130.2 130.2 -.3 0 -.5 .4 0 04-2 | Leather 2/..........................................| 218.7 220.1 220.4 4.5 .1 .1 .7 .1 05-32 | Liquefied petroleum gas 2/..........................| 152.6 194.0 160.6 -9.8 -17.2 10.9 18.0 -17.2 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ See footnotes at end of table. Table 2. Producer price indexes and percent changes for selected commodity groupings by stage of processing - Continued (1982=100 unless otherwise indicated) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | |Unadjusted | | | | percent |Seasonally adjusted | | Unadjusted index |change to |percent change from: Commodity | | |Feb. 2004 from:| code | Grouping |_______________________|_______________|________________________ | | | | | | | | | | |Oct. |Jan. |Feb. | Feb. | Jan. |Nov. to|Dec. to|Jan. to | |2003 1/|2004 1/|2004 1/| 2003 | 2004 | Dec. | Jan. | Feb. ___________|_______________________________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|________ | | | INTERMEDIATE MATERIALS LESS FOODS AND FEEDS | | -Continued..........................................| 05-42 | Commercial electric power...........................| 142.4 137.6 137.7 2.3 0.1 1.2 -0.6 0.5 05-43 | Industrial electric power...........................| 147.4 142.8 143.1 1.8 .2 -.5 -.2 .1 05-52 | Commercial natural gas (Dec. 1990=100)..............| 171.4 187.4 187.8 15.3 .2 1.5 -.2 2.2 05-53 | Industrial natural gas (Dec. 1990=100)..............| 177.6 193.7 194.8 14.8 .6 -.7 .6 3.5 05-54 | Natural gas to electric utilities (Dec. 1990=100)...| 142.5 161.3 169.8 3.9 5.3 4.8 -6.2 4.4 05-72-03 | Jet fuels...........................................| 77.7 97.3 95.4 -9.3 -2.0 8.3 11.1 3.7 05-73-03 | No. 2 Diesel fuel...................................| 101.1 109.3 103.7 -16.2 -5.1 10.6 11.4 -7.3 05-74 | Residual fuels 2/...................................| 96.0 103.5 102.4 -2.8 -1.1 (3) -.8 -1.1 06-1 | Industrial chemicals 2/.............................| 140.5 150.0 151.0 2.8 .7 1.9 4.6 .7 06-21 | Prepared paint......................................| 171.6 173.6 173.4 2.7 -.1 .3 .4 -.3 06-22 | Paint materials 2/..................................| 172.5 172.0 178.0 2.8 3.5 -.9 -.1 3.5 06-31 | Medicinal and botanical chemicals 2/................| 135.1 136.5 136.8 1.9 .2 -1.6 .1 .2 06-4 | Fats and oils, inedible.............................| 129.5 152.7 155.2 34.1 1.6 -7.0 3.6 10.4 06-51 | Mixed fertilizers...................................| 120.4 121.7 124.4 8.8 2.2 .5 .1 2.1 06-52-01 | Nitrogenates........................................| 149.5 161.9 166.0 23.6 2.5 1.6 -1.4 -.9 06-52-02 | Phosphates 2/.......................................| 111.9 115.1 120.1 17.4 4.3 2.0 2.1 4.3 06-53 | Other agricultural chemicals 2/.....................| 149.1 148.5 149.7 .1 .8 -1.5 .6 .8 06-6 | Plastic resins and materials 2/.....................| 146.2 148.5 151.0 6.5 1.7 -.3 2.1 1.7 07-11-02 | Synthetic rubber 2/.................................| 125.7 126.4 127.5 3.7 .9 .1 .6 .9 07-21 | Plastic construction products ......................| 139.1 139.4 138.7 1.0 -.5 .5 1.0 -1.4 07-22 | Unsupported plastic film, sheet, & other shapes 2/..| 141.8 143.3 145.4 4.4 1.5 .4 .1 1.5 07-26 | Plastic parts and components for manufacturing 2/...| 116.7 116.5 116.8 .6 .3 .9 -.2 .3 08-11 | Softwood lumber 2/..................................| 177.9 181.5 190.6 13.4 5.0 -.3 1.5 5.0 08-12 | Hardwood lumber 2/..................................| 190.6 198.4 199.1 8.9 .4 -.4 1.3 .4 08-2 | Millwork............................................| 183.7 183.8 184.5 2.4 .4 .1 .4 .2 08-3 | Plywood 2/..........................................| 203.9 173.9 200.4 36.1 15.2 -7.1 -9.1 15.2 09-11 | Woodpulp 2/.........................................| 122.0 125.3 125.6 8.7 .2 -.1 0 .2 09-13 | Paper 2/............................................| 146.0 144.7 145.6 .1 .6 -.2 -.8 .6 09-14 | Paperboard 2/.......................................| 159.9 158.0 157.5 -5.4 -.3 .1 -1.2 -.3 09-15-03 | Paper boxes and containers 2/.......................| 171.9 172.0 171.2 -1.7 -.5 0 0 -.5 09-2 | Building paper and board 2/.........................| 195.9 162.7 194.7 42.1 19.7 -8.8 -8.6 19.7 09-37 | Commercial printing (June 1982=100) 2/..............| 158.5 158.7 158.8 .7 .1 -.1 .2 .1 10-15 | Foundry and forge shop products.....................| 137.5 138.6 139.0 1.5 .3 .1 .4 .3 10-17 | Steel mill products.................................| 110.1 114.4 120.8 10.0 5.6 1.6 2.9 5.9 10-22 | Primary nonferrous metals 2/........................| 108.5 120.8 129.1 24.1 6.9 2.4 4.3 6.9 10-25-01 | Aluminum mill shapes 2/.............................| 142.6 142.1 146.0 1.7 2.7 .1 -.4 2.7 10-25-02 | Copper and brass mill shapes 2/.....................| 155.9 177.5 190.3 27.3 7.2 1.9 7.6 7.2 10-26 | Nonferrous wire and cable 2/........................| 135.1 143.0 146.5 11.4 2.4 1.9 2.1 2.4 10-3 | Metal containers 2/.................................| 109.5 110.6 111.0 2.0 .4 0 1.0 .4 10-4 | Hardware 2/.........................................| 156.7 159.6 159.7 2.2 .1 .4 1.7 .1 10-5 | Plumbing fixtures and brass fittings................| 183.5 183.6 184.6 .9 .5 0 -.1 -.1 10-6 | Heating equipment 2/................................| 163.7 164.5 165.9 2.0 .9 -.1 .3 .9 10-7 | Fabricated structural metal products 2/.............| 145.6 147.6 150.1 3.2 1.7 .5 .8 1.7 10-88 | Fabricated ferrous wire products (June 1982=100) 2/.| 132.3 134.0 138.7 6.4 3.5 .6 .7 3.5 10-89 | Other misc. metal products 2/.......................| 127.4 127.6 127.7 .4 .1 -.1 .1 .1 11-45 | Mechanical power transmission equipment.............| 172.0 173.5 174.0 1.5 .3 .1 .3 .3 11-48 | Air conditioning and refrigeration equipment 2/.....| 137.3 136.6 137.0 -.4 .3 .2 -.6 .3 11-49-02 | Metal valves, ex.fluid power (Dec. 1982=100)........| 170.0 170.2 170.5 1.3 .2 0 0 .3 11-49-05 | Ball and roller bearings 2/.........................| 171.0 171.8 171.7 .3 -.1 0 .5 -.1 11-71 | Wiring devices 2/...................................| 153.1 152.3 154.0 .4 1.1 -.6 .4 1.1 11-73 | Motors, generators, motor generator sets............| 147.3 147.4 147.8 .2 .3 0 -.1 .3 11-75 | Switchgear, switchboard, etc., equipment............| 160.1 160.6 160.2 .2 -.2 -.1 .3 -.3 11-78 | Electronic components and accessories 2/............| 90.2 89.7 90.0 -1.2 .3 -.4 -.3 .3 11-94 | Internal combustion engines 2/......................| 145.6 145.9 145.8 1.3 -.1 0 .5 -.1 11-95 | Machine shop products 2/............................| 141.0 141.2 142.3 1.4 .8 0 0 .8 13-11 | Flat glass 2/.......................................| 110.5 110.2 109.9 -1.1 -.3 -.2 0 -.3 13-22 | Cement..............................................| 151.1 151.3 151.7 -.6 .3 .4 -.1 .4 13-3 | Concrete products...................................| 153.7 155.3 157.4 2.9 1.4 .5 .1 1.5 13-6 | Asphalt felts and coatings..........................| 116.5 115.3 115.2 4.6 -.1 -.2 -1.0 .3 13-7 | Gypsum products 2/..................................| 175.3 173.8 177.4 3.9 2.1 1.1 -1.9 2.1 13-8 | Glass containers 2/.................................| 140.9 143.0 142.9 2.7 -.1 0 1.5 -.1 14-12 | Motor vehicle parts 2/..............................| 111.6 111.5 111.3 -.4 -.2 0 .2 -.2 14-23 | Aircraft engines & engine parts (Dec. 1985=100).....| 154.0 159.6 158.5 3.9 -.7 .1 2.4 -.8 14-25 | Aircraft parts & aux.equip.,nec (June 1985=100) 2/..| 150.7 150.5 150.3 -.3 -.1 .1 .7 -.1 15-42 | Photographic supplies 2/............................| 116.4 117.4 117.4 -1.0 0 0 .9 0 15-6 | Medical/surgical/personal aid devices 2/............| 155.6 156.2 158.2 2.8 1.3 0 .4 1.3 | | | CRUDE MATERIALS FOR FURTHER PROCESSING................| 138.0 144.7 148.3 10.7 2.5 2.2 2.8 2.5 | | | CRUDE FOODSTUFFS AND FEEDSTUFFS......................| 128.1 116.8 121.0 13.8 3.6 -.2 -6.9 3.6 | | 01-21 | Wheat 2/............................................| 92.8 110.5 108.0 5.2 -2.3 2.8 -.1 -2.3 01-22-02 | Corn 2/.............................................| 84.9 104.9 108.9 12.5 3.8 6.4 7.0 3.8 01-31 | Slaughter cattle 2/.................................| 157.1 116.9 115.0 1.1 -1.6 -3.5 -17.4 -1.6 01-32 | Slaughter hogs......................................| 65.6 62.8 78.4 38.5 24.8 -2.6 -3.2 20.2 01-41-02 | Slaughter broilers/fryers...........................| 154.6 168.0 194.7 34.9 15.9 9.0 -2.6 19.8 01-42 | Slaughter turkeys...................................| 111.1 101.1 101.2 1.2 .1 1.6 9.5 -2.0 01-6 | Fluid milk..........................................| 112.4 97.4 98.9 16.1 1.5 -7.7 -1.4 4.4 01-83-01-31| Soybeans 2/.........................................| 125.1 141.9 143.8 47.6 1.3 2.2 5.7 1.3 02-52-01-03| Cane sugar, raw (Dec. 2003=100) 2/..................| (3) 99.4 99.2 (3) -.2 (3) -.6 -.2 | | | CRUDE NONFOOD MATERIALS..............................| 141.1 162.1 164.9 8.7 1.7 3.9 9.3 1.9 | | 01-51 | Raw cotton 2/.......................................| 110.9 113.8 100.1 16.7 -12.0 -10.1 6.8 -12.0 01-92 | Leaf tobacco 2/.....................................| 110.8 115.8 112.9 -14.9 -2.5 -.3 -.3 -2.5 04-1 | Hides and skins (June 2001=100) 2/..................| 189.0 197.1 192.2 .1 -2.5 2.5 2.9 -2.5 05-1 | Coal 2/.............................................| 100.7 99.3 107.9 10.4 8.7 .4 -1.6 8.7 05-31 | Natural gas 2/......................................| 184.1 231.0 229.7 6.1 -.6 6.1 17.8 -.6 05-61 | Crude petroleum 2/..................................| 81.7 88.5 86.8 -8.8 -1.9 2.6 8.1 -1.9 08-5 | Logs, timber, etc...................................| 186.2 189.6 191.3 5.7 .9 1.2 .5 .6 09-12 | Wastepaper 2/.......................................| 201.5 209.7 219.8 20.7 4.8 -.2 2.8 4.8 10-11 | Iron ore 2/.........................................| 96.5 97.1 97.1 1.9 0 0 .6 0 10-12 | Iron and steel scrap................................| 196.1 265.0 315.8 88.1 19.2 8.8 5.7 21.1 10-21 | Nonferrous metal ores (Dec. 1983=100) 2/............| 83.2 90.3 93.0 24.0 3.0 5.1 2.8 3.0 10-23-01 | Copper base scrap 2/................................| 135.2 158.4 177.8 45.9 12.2 6.8 4.5 12.2 10-23-02 | Aluminum base scrap.................................| 171.0 185.5 193.3 15.2 4.2 .6 3.2 1.6 13-21 | Construction sand, gravel, and crushed stone........| 178.2 180.0 180.4 2.7 .2 .2 .4 -.1 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1/ The indexes for October 2003 have been recalculated to incorporate 2/ Not seasonally adjusted. late reports and corrections by respondents. All indexes are subject 3/ Not available. to revision 4 months after original publication. Table 3. Producer price indexes for selected commodity groupings (1982=100 unless otherwise indicated) _______________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | Unadjusted index 1/ | Commodity| |___________________________________| code | Grouping | Oct. 2003 | Jan. 2004 | Feb. 2004 | _________|________________________________________________|___________|___________|___________| | | | | | | Finished Goods (1967=100)......................| 408.3 | 408.0 | 407.8 | | All commodities................................| 139.3 | 'N.A.' | 141.8 | | | | | | | | | | | | MAJOR COMMODITY GROUPS | | | | | | | | | | Farm products and processed foods and feeds....| 140.6 | 'N.A.' | 137.5 | 01 | Farm products................................| 124.4 | 116.8 | 119.0 | 02 | Processed foods and feeds....................| 148.5 | 146.1 | 146.5 | | | | | | | Industrial commodities.........................| 139.2 | 'N.A.' | 142.6 | 03 | Textile products and apparel.................| 119.9 | 119.8 | 119.6 | 04 | Hides, skins, leather, and related products..| 163.7 | 165.7 | 165.3 | 05 | Fuels and related products and power.........| 110.7 | 117.7 | 117.5 | 06 | Chemicals and allied products 2/.............| 162.1 | 166.4 | 167.5 | 07 | Rubber and plastic products..................| 130.5 | 130.8 | 131.9 | 08 | Lumber and wood products.....................| 184.1 | 183.4 | 188.6 | 09 | Pulp, paper, and allied products.............| 190.8 | 191.4 | 192.4 | 10 | Metals and metal products....................| 130.2 | 135.2 | 139.3 | 11 | Machinery and equipment......................| 121.6 | 121.7 | 121.9 | 12 | Furniture and household durables.............| 133.9 | 133.5 | 133.6 | 13 | Nonmetallic mineral products.................| 148.5 | 149.0 | 150.2 | 14 | Transportation equipment.....................| 148.7 | 147.8 | 147.4 | 15 | Miscellaneous products.......................| 180.0 | 181.6 | 181.8 | | | | | | | Industrial commodities less fuels and related | | | | | products and power...........................| 145.9 | 147.1 | 148.2 | | | | | | | | | | | | OTHER COMMODITY GROUPINGS | | | | | | | | | 01-1 | Fruits and melons, fresh and dry vegetables, | | | | | and tree nuts................................| 117.0 | 116.2 | 108.3 | 01-2 | Grains.........................................| 87.9 | 105.9 | 108.2 | 01-3 | Slaughter livestock............................| 132.7 | 103.1 | 106.0 | 01-4 | Slaughter poultry..............................| 143.8 | 152.4 | 173.4 | 01-5 | Plant and animal fibers........................| 111.8 | 114.7 | 101.1 | 01-7 | Chicken eggs...................................| 159.4 | 162.8 | 172.0 | 01-8 | Hay, hayseeds, and oilseeds....................| 143.5 | 158.2 | 159.9 | 01-83 | Oilseeds.......................................| 134.5 | 152.6 | 154.4 | 01-9 | Other farm products............................| 165.3 | 172.7 | 168.3 | 02-1 | Cereal and bakery products.....................| 170.9 | 172.6 | 173.6 | 02-2 | Meats, poultry, and fish.......................| 142.8 | 132.0 | 133.0 | 02-22 | Processed poultry..............................| 120.6 | 125.5 | 130.5 | 02-5 | Sugar and confectionery........................| 148.5 | 148.9 | 148.4 | 02-6 | Beverages and beverage materials...............| 151.0 | 151.1 | 151.5 | 02-63 | Packaged beverage materials....................| 129.1 | 129.2 | 129.6 | 02-7 | Fats and oils..................................| 165.2 | 183.5 | 181.0 | 03-81 | Apparel........................................| 126.0 | 124.7 | 124.6 | 04-4 | Other leather and related products.............| 148.5 | 148.5 | 147.4 | 05-3 | Gas fuels......................................| 173.8 | 218.6 | 211.9 | 05-4 | Electric power.................................| 143.1 | 139.1 | 139.3 | 05-7 | Refined petroleum products.....................| 96.3 | 103.7 | 103.7 | 06-3 | Drugs and pharmaceuticals......................| 277.0 | 278.6 | 278.3 | 06-5 | Agricultural chemicals and products............| 136.7 | 139.9 | 143.0 | 06-7 | Other chemicals and allied products............| 142.1 | 142.2 | 142.7 | 07-1 | Rubber and rubber products.....................| 119.6 | 119.9 | 121.9 | 07-11 | Rubber, except natural rubber..................| 125.1 | 125.8 | 126.9 | 07-13 | Miscellaneous rubber products..................| 141.1 | 141.4 | 141.5 | 07-2 | Plastic products...............................| 138.8 | 139.1 | 139.9 | 08-1 | Lumber.........................................| 179.4 | 184.4 | 190.7 | 09-1 | Pulp, paper, and products, excluding building | | | | | paper and board..............................| 156.7 | 156.7 | 157.1 | 09-15 | Converted paper and paperboard products........| 164.9 | 165.1 | 164.9 | 10-1 | Iron and steel.................................| 123.2 | 132.9 | 142.2 | 10-2 | Nonferrous metals..............................| 125.9 | 133.3 | 137.9 | 10-25 | Nonferrous mill shapes.........................| 137.4 | 139.9 | 144.6 | 11-3 | Metalworking machinery and equipment...........| 150.1 | 150.9 | 150.9 | 11-4 | General purpose machinery and equipment........| 155.8 | 156.3 | 156.9 | 11-6 | Special industry machinery.....................| 167.2 | 168.5 | 168.9 | 11-7 | Electrical machinery and equipment.............| 114.2 | 113.8 | 114.1 | 11-9 | Miscellaneous machinery and equipment..........| 138.1 | 138.7 | 139.1 | 12-6 | Other household durable goods..................| 158.4 | 158.7 | 158.5 | 13-2 | Concrete ingredients...........................| 165.1 | 166.3 | 166.7 | 14-1 | Motor vehicles and equipment...................| 132.8 | 131.4 | 130.8 | 15-1 | Toys, sporting goods, small arms, etc..........| 132.2 | 132.9 | 133.4 | 15-4 | Photographic equipment and supplies............| 103.5 | 104.1 | 104.1 | 15-9 | Other miscellaneous products...................| 140.8 | 142.5 | 142.4 | __________________________________________________________|___________|___________|___________| 1/ Data for October 2003 have been revised to reflect the availability of late reports and corrections by respondents. All data are subject to revision 4 months after original publication. 2/ Prices of some items in this grouping are lagged 1 month. Table 4. Producer price indexes for the net output of selected industries and industry groups, not seasonally adjusted ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | Index | Percent change Industry | Industry 1/ |Index|_______________________|to_Feb._2004_from:__ code | |base | | | | | | | |Oct. |Jan. |Feb. | Feb. | Jan. | | |2003 2/|2004 2/|2004 2/| 2003 | 2004 __________________|______________________________________________|_____|_______|_______|_______|________|___________ | | | |Total mining industries...................... |12/84| 122.7 141.6 139.5 1.5 -1.5 211 | Oil and gas extraction...................... |12/85| 146.1 177.0 172.4 1.3 -2.6 212 | Mining (except oil & gas)................... |12/03| (3) 101.4 103.6 (3) 2.2 213 | Mining support activities................... |12/03| (3) 102.0 100.6 (3) -1.4 | | | |Total manufacturing industries............... |12/84| 138.2 138.9 139.3 1.2 .3 311 | Food mfg.................................... |12/84| 141.8 139.5 139.9 4.0 .3 312 | Beverage & tobacco mfg...................... |12/03| (3) 100.7 100.9 (3) .2 313 | Textile mills............................... |12/03| (3) 100.5 100.3 (3) -.2 314 | Textile product mills....................... |12/03| (3) 99.8 99.9 (3) .1 315 | Apparel manufacturing....................... |12/03| (3) 100.0 99.9 (3) -.1 316 | Leather & allied product mfg................ |12/84| 143.2 144.0 143.2 .6 -.6 321 | Wood products manufacturing................. |12/03| (3) 99.2 102.5 (3) 3.3 322 | Paper manufacturing......................... |12/03| (3) 99.7 99.6 (3) -.1 323 | Printing and related support activities..... |12/03| (3) 100.4 100.3 (3) -.1 324 | Petroleum and coal products mfg............. |12/84| 120.9 131.3 130.7 -5.3 -.5 325 | Chemical mfg................................ |12/84| 165.2 167.1 167.7 3.3 .4 326 | Plastics and rubber products mfg............ |12/84| 128.6 128.8 129.9 2.1 .9 327 | Nonmetallic mineral product mfg............. |12/84| 138.2 138.6 139.7 1.4 .8 331 | Primary metal mfg........................... |12/84| 119.0 123.6 128.1 8.6 3.6 332 | Fabricated metal product mfg................ |12/84| 133.1 134.4 135.3 2.1 .7 333 | Machinery mfg............................... |12/03| (3) 100.4 100.6 (3) .2 334 | Computer & electronic product mfg........... |12/03| (3) 99.9 99.9 (3) 0 335 | Electrical equip, appliance & component mfg. |12/03| (3) 100.3 100.8 (3) .5 336 | Transportation equipment mfg................ |12/03| (3) 100.3 100.1 (3) -.2 337 | Furniture & related product mfg............. |12/84| 147.6 147.3 147.8 .5 .3 339 | Miscellaneous mfg........................... |12/03| (3) 100.4 100.9 (3) .5 | | | |Retail trade industries | | 441 | Motor vehicle and parts dealers............. |12/03| (3) 100.2 100.4 (3) .2 442 | Furniture and home furnishings stores....... |12/03| (3) 99.9 99.9 (3) 0 443 | Electronics and appliance stores............ |12/03| (3) 105.1 102.7 (3) -2.3 444 | Bldg material and garden equip and supp | | | dealers.................................... |12/03| (3) 101.5 103.9 (3) 2.4 445 | Food and beverage stores.................... |12/99| 119.7 120.6 120.2 3.4 -.3 446 | Health and personal care stores............. |12/03| (3) 99.9 99.2 (3) -.7 447 | Gasoline stations........................... |06/01| 65.3 43.6 43.3 5.1 -.7 448 | Clothing and clothing accessories stores.... |12/03| (3) 100.2 99.9 (3) -.3 451 | Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores |12/03| (3) 101.2 98.7 (3) -2.5 452 | General merchandise stores.................. |12/03| (3) 102.2 99.4 (3) -2.7 454 | Nonstore retailers.......................... |12/03| (3) 101.3 102.7 (3) 1.4 | | | |Transportation and warehousing | | 481 | Air transportation.......................... |12/92| 162.2 163.0 163.7 2.2 .4 482 | Rail transportation......................... |12/96| 109.4 110.2 110.2 2.5 0 483 | Water transportation........................ |12/03| (3) 99.7 98.7 (3) -1.0 484 | Truck transportation........................ |12/03| (3) 100.2 101.2 (3) 1.0 486110 | Pipeline transportation of crude oil........ |06/86| 110.9 116.8 116.3 5.3 -.4 486910 | Pipeline transportation of refined petroleum | | | products................................... |06/86| 114.2 117.4 117.0 5.5 -.3 488 | Transportation support activities........... |12/03| (3) 100.0 100.3 (3) .3 491 | Postal service.............................. |06/89| 155.0 155.0 155.0 0.0 0.0 492 | Couriers and messengers..................... |12/03| (3) 105.3 104.9 (3) -.4 | | | |Utilities | | 221 | Utilities................................... |12/03| (3) 101.3 102.0 (3) .7 | | | |Health care and social assistance | | 6211 | Offices of physicians....................... |12/96| 112.7 113.6 114.1 3.4 .4 6215 | Medical and diagnostic laboratories......... |12/03| (3) 100.3 99.8 (3) -.5 6216 | Home health care services................... |12/96| 118.5 119.4 119.5 2.1 .1 622 | Hospitals................................... |12/92| 137.5 139.9 139.5 5.0 -.3 6231 | Nursing care facilities..................... |12/03| (3) 101.0 101.5 (3) .5 62321 | Residential mental retardation facilities... |12/03| (3) 99.8 99.9 (3) .1 | | | _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ See footnotes at end of table. Table 4. Producer price indexes for the net output of selected industries and industry groups, not seasonally adjusted--Continued ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | Index | Percent change Industry | Industry 1/ |Index|_______________________|to_Feb._2004_from:__ code | |base | | | | | | | |Oct. |Jan. |Feb. | Feb. | Jan. | | |2003 2/|2004 2/|2004 2/| 2003 | 2004 __________________|______________________________________________|_____|_______|_______|_______|________|___________ |Other services industries | | 511 | Publishing industries, except Internet...... |12/03| (3) 100.7 101.1 (3) .4 515 | Broadcasting, except Internet............... |12/03| (3) 98.0 98.4 (3) .4 517 | Telecommunications.......................... |12/03| (3) 100.5 100.0 (3) -.5 5182 | Data processing and related services........ |12/03| (3) 99.8 100.2 (3) .4 523 | Security, commodity contracts and like | | | activity................................... |12/03| (3) 101.8 101.7 (3) -.1 53112 | Lessors of nonres bldg (exc miniwarehouse).. |12/03| (3) 100.9 99.4 (3) -1.5 5312 | Offices of real estate agents and brokers... |12/03| (3) 100.0 100.2 (3) .2 5313 | Real estate support activities.............. |12/03| (3) 100.3 100.2 (3) -.1 5321 | Automotive equipment rental and leasing..... |06/01| 107.7 107.7 110.5 5.2 2.6 5411 | Legal services.............................. |12/96| 126.3 127.2 132.1 5.6 3.9 541211 | Offices of certified public accountants..... |12/03| (3) 101.5 101.3 (3) -.2 5413 | Architectural, engineering and related | | | services................................... |12/96| 124.7 126.2 126.6 2.3 .3 54181 | Advertising agencies........................ |12/03| (3) 100.0 99.5 (3) -.5 5613 | Employment services......................... |12/96| 112.1 111.8 112.0 .8 .2 56151 | Travel agencies............................. |12/03| (3) 99.9 100.7 (3) .8 56172 | Janitorial services......................... |12/03| (3) 100.1 100.4 (3) .3 5621 | Waste collection............................ |12/03| (3) 100.0 100.8 (3) .8 721 | Accommodation |12/96| 122.6 121.3 121.5 -.6 .2 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1/ Indexes in this table are derived from the net-output-weighted industry price indexes. Because of differences in coverage and aggregation methodology, they will generally not match the movements of similarly titled indexes which are derived from traditional commodity groupings. 2/ The indexes for October 2003 have been recalculated to incorporate late reports and corrections by respondents. All indexes are subject to revision 4 months after original publication. 3/ Not available. Note: NAICS 2002 replaced the SIC classification system beginning with the release of PPI data for January 2004. Table 5. Producer price indexes by stage of processing, seasonally adjusted (1982=100) _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | Index 1/ |_____________________________________________________ Grouping | | | | | | | Sep. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | Jan. | Feb. | 2003 | 2003 | 2003 | 2003 | 2004 | 2004 _______________________________________________________|________|________|________|________|________|________ | Finished goods...................................| 143.8 144.7 144.5 144.8 145.7 145.8 Finished consumer goods........................| 146.0 147.1 146.7 147.1 148.2 148.3 Finished consumer foods......................| 147.5 150.5 150.2 150.4 148.3 148.6 Crude......................................| 135.4 134.1 133.9 147.3 135.1 132.1 Processed..................................| 148.5 151.9 151.6 150.6 149.4 149.9 Finished consumer goods, excluding foods.....| 145.0 145.4 144.9 145.5 147.8 147.9 Nondurable goods less foods................| 149.0 149.0 148.2 149.3 152.5 152.8 Durable goods..............................| 132.8 133.9 134.1 133.6 134.1 133.8 Capital equipment..............................| 139.6 140.0 140.2 140.1 140.5 140.5 Manufacturing industries.....................| 140.0 140.1 140.2 140.3 140.7 141.0 Nonmanufacturing industries..................| 139.4 140.0 140.2 139.9 140.4 140.3 | Intermediate materials, supplies, and components.| 134.0 134.4 134.3 134.9 136.0 137.2 Materials and components for manufacturing.....| 129.8 130.5 130.8 131.1 131.8 133.2 Materials for food manufacturing.............| 136.6 141.1 142.0 141.3 139.1 139.7 Materials for nondurable manufacturing.......| 136.5 137.3 137.7 138.3 140.1 141.1 Materials for durable manufacturing..........| 128.5 129.6 130.6 131.2 132.5 137.2 Components for manufacturing.................| 125.9 125.8 125.7 125.7 125.9 126.2 Materials and components for construction......| 154.9 155.4 156.0 155.9 156.3 158.5 Processed fuels and lubricants.................| 113.0 112.7 110.7 112.8 115.8 116.6 Manufacturing industries ....................| 118.4 117.5 115.8 115.8 117.7 118.9 Nonmanufacturing industries..................| 109.6 109.7 107.5 110.9 114.7 115.2 Containers.....................................| 153.5 153.2 153.5 153.4 153.9 153.8 Supplies.......................................| 141.6 141.9 142.7 142.7 143.3 143.8 Manufacturing industries.....................| 146.7 146.7 146.9 147.0 147.2 147.5 Nonmanufacturing industries..................| 139.2 139.5 140.4 140.5 141.2 141.7 Feeds......................................| 107.8 109.2 117.9 117.2 117.7 117.5 Other supplies.............................| 143.2 143.4 143.5 143.6 144.4 145.0 | Crude materials for further processing...........| 134.1 137.9 138.4 141.4 145.3 148.9 Foodstuffs and feedstuffs......................| 117.7 127.7 127.4 127.2 118.4 122.7 Nonfood materials..............................| 142.8 141.4 142.5 148.0 161.8 164.8 Nonfood materials except fuel 2/.............| 113.9 119.7 121.2 124.7 130.9 134.4 Manufacturing 2/...........................| 104.6 110.1 111.5 114.8 120.6 123.8 Construction...............................| 181.2 182.0 182.6 184.9 186.3 187.3 Crude fuel 3/................................| 176.9 163.3 163.8 172.1 197.6 199.2 Manufacturing industries...................| 168.4 155.8 156.3 163.9 187.3 189.3 Nonmanufacturing industries................| 180.9 167.0 167.4 176.0 202.1 203.7 | Special groupings | | Finished goods, excluding foods..................| 142.6 143.0 142.8 143.1 144.8 144.9 Intermediate materials less foods and feeds......| 134.4 134.6 134.4 135.0 136.3 137.5 Intermediate foods and feeds.....................| 127.8 131.3 134.7 134.0 132.7 133.0 Crude materials less agricultural products 2/....| 144.7 142.7 143.6 149.5 163.8 167.2 | Finished energy goods............................| 102.8 102.4 101.6 103.2 108.0 108.2 Finished goods less energy.......................| 149.5 150.7 150.6 150.6 150.3 150.4 Finished consumer goods less energy..............| 153.7 155.4 155.2 155.1 154.6 154.7 | Finished goods less foods and energy.............| 150.5 151.2 151.2 151.0 151.4 151.5 Finished consumer goods less foods and energy....| 157.8 158.7 158.5 158.3 158.8 158.8 Consumer nondurable goods less foods and energy..| 178.1 178.7 178.2 178.2 178.6 179.0 | Intermediate energy goods........................| 112.1 111.9 109.9 111.9 114.9 115.6 Intermediate materials less energy...............| 138.0 138.5 139.0 139.1 139.8 141.1 Intermediate materials less foods and energy.....| 138.7 139.1 139.4 139.6 140.4 141.7 | Crude energy materials 2/........................| 138.2 134.3 133.6 139.3 156.7 156.7 Crude materials less energy......................| 127.2 135.8 137.1 138.3 133.5 139.2 Crude nonfood materials less energy 3/...........| 155.6 160.3 166.1 171.1 176.8 186.6 _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1/ All seasonally adjusted indexes are subject to change up to 5 years after original publication due to the recalculation of seasonal factors each January. The indexes for October 2003 have been recalculated to incorporate late reports and corrections by respondents. 2/ Includes crude petroleum. 3/ Excludes crude petroleum. Technical Note Brief Explanation of Producer Prices Indexes The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) term Producer Price Index (PPI) refers to a family of indexes that measure the average change over time in the prices received by domestic producers of goods and services. PPIs measure price change from the perspective of the seller. This contrasts with other measures, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI); CPIs measure price change from the purchaser's perspective. Sellers' and purchasers' prices can differ due to government subsidies, sales and excise taxes, and distribution costs. More than 8,000 PPIs for individual products and groups of products are released each month. PPIs are available for the products of virtually every industry in the mining and manufacturing sectors of the U.S. economy. New PPIs are gradually being introduced for the products of industries in the trade, finance, and services sectors of the economy. More than 100,000 price quotations per month are organized into three sets of PPIs: (1) Stage-of-processing indexes; (2) commodity indexes; and (3) indexes for the net output of industries and their products. The stage- of-processing structure organizes products by class of buyer and degree of fabrication. The commodity structure organizes products by similarity of end use or material composition. The entire output of various industries is sampled to derive price indexes for the net output of industries and their products. Stage-of-Processing Indexes Within the stage-of-processing system, finished goods are commodities that will not undergo further processing and are ready for sale to the final-demand user, either an individual consumer or business firm. Consumer foods include unprocessed foods such as eggs and fresh vegetables, as well as processed foods such as bakery products and meats. Other finished consumer goods include durable goods such as automobiles, household furniture, and appliances, as well as nondurable goods such as apparel and home heating oil. Capital equipment includes producer durable goods such as heavy motor trucks, tractors, and machine tools. The stage-of-processing category for intermediate materials, supplies, and components consists partly of commodities that have been processed but require further processing. Examples of such semifinished goods include flour, cotton yarn, steel mill products, and lumber. The intermediate goods category also encompasses nondurable, physically complete items purchased by business firms as inputs for their operations. Examples include diesel fuel, belts and belting, paper boxes, and fertilizers. Crude materials for further processing are products entering the market for the first time that have not been manufactured or fabricated and that are not sold directly to consumers. Crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs include items such as grains and livestock. Examples of crude nonfood materials include raw cotton, crude petroleum, coal, hides and skins, and iron and steel scrap. Commodity Indexes The commodity classification structure of the PPI organizes products by similarity of end use or material composition, disregarding industry of origin. Fifteen major commodity groupings (2-digit commodity codes) make up the All Commodities Index. Each major commodity grouping includes (in descending order of aggregation) subgroups (3-digit), product classes (4- digit), subproduct classes (6-digit), and individual items (8 digit). Nearly all 8-digit commodities under the traditional commodity coding system are now derived from corresponding industry-classified product indexes. In such instances, movements in the traditional commodity price indexes and corresponding percent changes will be virtually identical to their industry-based counterparts, even if their index levels differ. Industry Net-Output Price Indexes PPIs for the net output of industries and their products are grouped according to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Prior to the release of January 2004, industry-based PPIs were published according to the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. Industry price indexes are compatible with other economic time series organized by industry, such as data on employment, wages, and productivity. Table 5 of the PPI Detailed Report includes data for NAICS industries and industry groups (3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-digit codes); indexes for Census product classes (7- and 8-digits), products (9-digits), and more detailed subproducts (11- digits); and, for some industries, indexes for other sources of revenue. Indexes may represent one of three kinds of product indexes. Every industry has primary product indexes to show changes in prices received by establishments classified in the industry for products made primarily, but not necessarily exclusively, by that industry. The industry classification of an establishment is determined by which products comprise a plurality of its total shipment value. In addition, most industries have secondary product indexes that show changes in prices received by establishments classified in the industry for products chiefly made in some other industry. Finally, some industries have miscellaneous receipts indexes to show price changes in other sources of revenue received by establishments within the industry that are not derived from sales of their products, for example, resales of purchased materials, or revenues from parking lots owned by a manufacturing plant. Data Collection PPIs are based on selling prices reported by establishments of all sizes selected by probability sampling, with the probability of selection proportionate to size. Individual items and transaction terms from these firms are also chosen by probability proportionate to size. The BLS strongly encourages cooperating companies to supply actual transaction prices at the time of shipment to minimize the use of list prices. Prices submitted by survey respondents are effective on the Tuesday of the week containing the 13th day of the month. This survey is conducted primarily through the mail. Price data are provided on a voluntary and confidential basis; only sworn BLS employees are allowed access to individual company price reports. BLS publishes price indexes instead of unit dollar prices. All PPIs are subject to revision 4 months after original publication to reflect the availability of late reports and corrections by respondents. BLS periodically updates the PPI sample of survey respondents to better reflect current conditions when the structure, membership, technology, or product mix of an industry shifts significantly and to spread reporting burden among smaller firms. Results of these resampling efforts are incorporated into the PPI with the release of data for January and July. As part of an ongoing effort to expand coverage to sectors of the economy other than mining and manufacturing, an increasing number of service sector industries have been introduced into the PPI. The following list of recently introduced industries includes the month and year in which an article describing the industry's content appeared in the PPI Detailed Report. PPI Detailed Title Code Report Issue SIC Wireless Telecommunications..............................4812 July 1999 Telephone Communications, Except Radio Telephone.........4813 July 1995 Television Broadcasting..................................4833 July 2002 Grocery Stores...........................................5411 July 2000 Meat and Fish (Seafood) Markets..........................5421 July 2000 Fruit and Vegetable Markets..............................5431 July 2000 Candy, Nut, and Confectionery Stores.....................5441 July 2000 Retail Bakeries..........................................5461 July 2000 Miscellaneous Food Stores................................5499 July 2000 New Car Dealers..........................................5511 July 2000 Gasoline Service Stations................................5541 January 2002 Boat Dealers.............................................5551 January 2002 Recreational Vehicle Dealers.............................5561 January 2002 Miscellaneous Retail.....................................59 January 2001 Security Brokers, Dealers, and Investment Bankers........6211 January 2001 Investment Advice........................................6282 January 2003 Life Insurance Carriers..................................6311 January 1999 Property and Casualty Insurance..........................6331 July 1998 Insurance Agencies and Brokerages........................6412 January 2003 Operators and Lessors of Nonresidential Buildings........6512 January 1996 Real Estate Agents and Managers..........................6531 January 1996 Prepackaged Software.....................................7372 January 1998 Data Processing Services.................................7374 January 2002 Home Health Care Services................................8082 January 1997 Legal Services...........................................8111 January 1997 Engineering Design, Analysis, and Consulting Services....8711 January 1997 Architectural Design, Analysis, and Consulting Services..8712 January 1997 Premiums for Property and Casualty Insurance.............9331 July 1998 NAICS Furniture and Home Furnishings Stores....................442 January 2004 Electronics and Appliance Stores.........................443 January 2004 Building Material and Garden Equipment and Supplies Dealers..................................................444 January 2004 Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores.................448 January 2004 Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book, and Music Stores............451 January 2004 General Merchandise Stores...............................452 January 2004 Miscellaneous Store Retailers............................453 January 2004 Weights Weights for most traditional commodity groupings of the PPI, as well as weights for commodity-based aggregate indexes calculated using traditional commodity groupings, such as stage-of-processing indexes, currently reflect 1997 values of shipments as reported in the Census of Manufactures and other sources. From January 1996 through December 2001, PPI weights were derived from 1992 shipment values. Industry indexes also are now calculated with 1997 net output weights. This periodic update of the value weights used to calculate the PPI is done to more accurately reflect changes in production and marketing patterns in the economy. Net output values of shipments are used as weights for industry indexes. Net output values refer to the value of shipments from establishments within the industry to buyers outside the industry. However, weights for commodity price indexes are based on gross shipment values, including shipment values between establishments within the same industry. As a result, broad commodity grouping indexes, such as the PPI for All Commodities, are affected by the multiple counting of price change at successive stages of processing, which can lead to exaggerated or misleading signals about inflation. Stage-of-processing indexes partially correct this defect, but industry indexes consistently correct for this at all levels of aggregation. Therefore, industry and stage-of-processing indexes are more appropriate than broad commodity groupings for economic analysis of general price trends. Price Index Reference Base Effective with publication of January 1988 data, many important PPI series (including stage-of-processing groupings and most commodity groups and individual items) were placed on a new reference base, 1982=100. From 1971 through 1987, the standard reference base for most PPI series was 1967=100. Except for rounding differences, the shift to the new reference base did not alter any previously published percent changes for affected PPI series. (See "Calculating Index Changes," below.) The 1982 reference base is not used for commodity indexes with a base later than December 1981 or for industry net output indexes and their products. For further information on the underlying concepts and methodology of the Producer Price Index, see chapter 14, "Producer Prices," in BLS Handbook of Methods (April 1997), Bulletin 2490. This document can be downloaded from the BLS website at (http://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch14_itc.htm), and reprints are available on request. Calculating Index Changes Each PPI measures price changes from a reference period which equals 100.0. An increase of 5.5 percent from the reference period in the Finished Goods Price Index, for example, is shown as 105.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars, as follows: Prices received by domestic producers of a sample of finished goods have risen from $100 in 1982 to $105.50. Likewise, a current index of 90.0 would indicate that prices received by producers of finished goods are 10 percent lower than they were in 1982. Movements of price indexes from one month to another are usually expressed as percent changes, rather than as changes in index points. Index point changes are affected by the level of the index in relation to its base period, whereas percent changes are not. The following example shows the computation of index point and percent changes. Index point change Finished Goods Price Index 107.5 Less previous index 104.0 Equals index point change 3.5 Index percent change Index point change 3.5 Divided by the previous index 104.0 Equals 0.034 Result multiplied by 100 0.034 x 100 Equals percent change 3.4 Seasonally Adjusted and Unadjusted Data Because price data are used for different purposes by different groups, BLS publishes seasonally adjusted and unadjusted changes each month. Seasonally adjusted data are preferred for analyzing general price trends in the economy, because these data eliminate the effect of changes that normally occur at about the same time, and in about the same magnitude, every year-such as price movements resulting from normal weather patterns, regular production and marketing cycles, model changeovers, seasonal discounts, and holidays. For these reasons, seasonally adjusted data more clearly reveal underlying cyclical trends. Unadjusted data are of primary interest to users who need information that can be related to actual dollar values of transactions. Individuals requiring this information include marketing specialists, purchasing agents, budget and cost analysts, contract specialists, and commodity traders. It is the unadjusted data that are generally cited in escalating long-term contracts such as purchasing agreements or real estate leases. (See Escalation and Producer Price Indexes: A Guide for Contracting Parties, BLS Report 807, September 1991, available on request from the BLS.) In 1998, the PPI implemented the X-12-ARIMA Seasonal Adjustment Method; prior to that year the PPI employed the X-11 method. Each year, the seasonal status of most commodity indexes is re-evaluated to reflect more recent price behavior. Industry net output indexes are not seasonally adjusted. For time series that exhibit seasonal pricing patterns, new seasonal factors are estimated and applied to the unadjusted data for the previous 5 years. These updated seasonally adjusted indexes replace the most recent 5 years of seasonal data. Seasonal factors may be applied to series using either a direct or aggregative method. Generally, commodity indexes are seasonally adjusted using direct seasonal adjustment, which produces a more complete elimination of seasonal movements than the aggregative method. However, the direct seasonal adjustment process may not yield figures that possess additive consistency. Thus, a seasonally adjusted index for a broad category that is directly adjusted may not be logically consistent with all seasonally adjusted indexes for its components. Seasonal movements for stage-of-processing indexes are derived indirectly through an aggregative method that combines movements of a wide variety of subproduct class (6- digit) series. Seasonally adjusted indexes can become problematic when previously stable and predictable price patterns abruptly change. If the new pattern persists, the seasonal adjustment method will eventually reflect it adequately; if these patterns keep shifting, however, seasonally adjusted data will become chronically troublesome. This problem occurs relatively infrequently for farm and food-related products but has more often affected manufactured products such as automobiles and steel. Since January 1988, the PPI has used Intervention Analysis Seasonal Adjustment methods to enhance the calculation of seasonal factors. With this technique, outlier values that may distort the seasonal pattern are removed from the data prior to applying the standard seasonal factor estimation procedure. For example, a possible economic cause for large price movements for petroleum-based products might have been the Persian Gulf War. In this case, intervention techniques allowed for better estimates of seasonally adjusted data. On the whole, very few series have required intervention. Out of nearly 900 seasonally adjusted series, only 16 interventions were performed in 1997. For more information relating to seasonal adjustment methods, see (1) "Appendix A: Seasonal Adjustment Methodology at BLS," in the BLS Handbook of Methods (April 1997), Bulletin 2490 and (2) "Summary of Changes to the PPI's Seasonal Adjustment Methodology" in the January 1995 issue of Producer Price Indexes. Producer Price Index Data Via the Internet In 1995, the BLS began posting PPI series, news releases, and technical information to both a World Wide Web (WWW) site and a file transfer protocol (FTP) site. During the years following the introduction of PPI Internet services, usage of these sites eclipsed more traditional methods of data dissemination, such as subscriptions to the PPI Detailed Report. There were more than 1.6 million accesses of PPI series over the Internet during the 12 months ended December 31, 2003. Retrieving PPI data from the PPI Website PPI data can be obtained from the WWW address (http://www.bls.gov/ppi). Scrolling down the page to the "Get Detailed Statistics" header reveals the following 5 methods of data retrieval: Most Requested Series is a form-based application that allows the user to quickly obtain PPI time series data by selecting from two separate lists (commodity and industry) of the most commonly requested time series, including the All Commodities Index and the stage-of-processing indexes (for example, Finished Goods). Within each list, any one-or all-of the time series shown can be selected. A user can modify the date range and output options after executing the query, using the reformat button above the data output table. Create Customized Tables is a form-based query application designed for users unfamiliar with the PPI coding structure. It guides a user through the PPI classification system by listing index titles and does not require knowledge of commodity or industry codes. Data retrieved are based on a query formulated by selecting data characteristics from lists provided. Two options are available to create customized tables, depending on a user's browser capability. The one-screen option is a JavaScript application that uses a single screen to guide a user through the available time series data. The second option is a multiple screen, nonJava-based application. Both methods allow a user to browse the PPI coding structure and select multiple series codes. Using the one-screen option, users can modify the date range and output options after executing the query using the reformat button above the data output table. Series Report is a form-based application that uses formatted PPI time series identifiers (commodity or industry codes) as input in extracting data according to a specified set of date ranges and output options. This application provides the most efficient path for those users who are familiar with the format of PPI time series identifiers. Up to 300 indexes can be extracted at one time. There are three basic formats for creating a unique PPI time series identifier. For commodity and stage-of-processing indexes, enter a "wpu" prefix (not seasonally adjusted) or a "wps" prefix (seasonally adjusted) in combination with a commodity-based code to create a series identifier. Commodity code Will provide data for: wps063 Drugs and pharmaceuticals, seasonally adjusted wpu063803 Pharmaceutical preparations, cardiovascular system wpusop3000 Finished goods, not seasonally adjusted For a current industry-based price index organized according to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), enter the prefix "pcu" followed by the industry-product code. The series identifier for products primary to an industry include 12 numeric digits, the six-digit industry code is repeated, and up to seven additional digits of product detail. Dashes are used as place holders for higher-level industry group codes. Industry-product code, Will provide data for: Current NAICS series pcu325---325--- Chemical manufacturing, not seasonally adjusted pcu336110336110 Automobile and light duty motor vehicle manufacturing pcu621111621111411 Offices of physicians, one and two physician practices and single specialty group practices, general/family practices To identify a discontinued industry-product code based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), enter a "pdu" prefix and "#" between the fourth and fifth characters of the product code. A series identifier for the discontinued dataset uses underscores as placeholders to complete a reference to an SIC industry group code of less than four digits. (All PPI industry-based indexes organized by SIC were discontinued with the introduction of the NAICS.) In all cases, no spaces are permitted. Industry-product code, Will provide data for: Discontinued SIC series pdu28__# Chemicals and allied products, not seasonally adjusted pdu331_# Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling and finishing mills, not seasonally adjusted pdu3711#111 Passenger cars Flat Files and the FTP server are best suited for those users requiring access to either a large volume of time series data or other PPI-related documentation (such as, seasonal factor and relative importance tables). The FTP site can be accessed at (ftp://ftp.bls.gov) or directly from the links on the "Get Detailed Statistics" page or the PPI homepage. Data and documentation available for download include: Data/Documentation Directory: NAICS Current Series /pub/time.series/pc SIC Discontinued Series /pub/time.series/pd Commodity Series /pub/time.series/wp Special Requests /pub/special.requests/ppi Latest News Release /pub/news.release/ppi.txt The FTP site maintains files to help with searches and downloads. These files are centrally located in the /pub/doc directory. Within this directory, go to the overview.txt file for an overview relating to all BLS data available through the FTP site. For commodity-based PPI data (which appear in tables 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 8 of the PPI monthly detailed report and tables 1, 2, 3, and 5 of the monthly news release), the program help file is wp.txt. For current industry-based PPI data based on the NAICS (which appear in tables 4, 5, and 9 of the monthly PPI report and table 4 of the monthly news release), the file is pc.txt. For industry-based SIC time series that have been discontinued, go to pd.txt. (These and other help files are also maintained within each of the five directories listed above.) Other Sources of PPI Data PPI data can also be accessed via the BLS homepage (http://www.bls.gov). After clicking the "Get Detailed Statistics" link at the top of the homepage a chart appears listing all of the available BLS programs. The following four methods are available for PPI data: Most requested statistics, create customized tables (one screen or multiple screens), and flat files. Additional sources of BLS data are also accessible from this page including: Economic news releases, series report, and economy at a glance. Additional information The PPI homepage (http://www.bls.gov/ppi) contains additional information regarding PPI data and methodology. The top section of the homepage provides PPI news releases, both current and archived, as well as general PPI information. The "Tables Created by BLS" section found beneath the statistics section provides relative importance and seasonal factor tables. The remaining sections offer special notices and publications pertaining to PPI methodology and applications. For questions or comments regarding PPI data classification, methodology, or data availability on the Internet, call or e-mail the Section of Index Analysis and Public Information directly at (202) 691-7705 or ppi-info@bls.gov. Data also can be obtained by calling the national fax- on-demand service at (202) 691-6325; this service enables customers to request faxes of BLS data 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.