Price movements January 2005

PPI Detailed Report, Jan, 2005

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 0.3 percent in January, seasonally adjusted. This increase followed a 0.3-percent decline in December and a 0.7-percent rise in November. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods moved up 0.4 percent in January, after inching down 0.1 percent in December. The crude goods index fell 2.0 percent, following a 3.0-percent drop in December. (See table A.)

Among finished goods in January, prices for finished goods other than foods and energy climbed 0.8 percent, compared with a 0.2-percent gain in December. The index for finished energy goods fell at a slower rate in January than it did in December. By contrast, prices for finished consumer foods turned down in January, alter edging up in December.

Before seasonal adjustment, the Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 0.7 percent in January to 151.5 (1982=100). From January 2004 to January 2005, prices for finished goods increased 4.2 percent. During the same period, the finished energy goods index jumped 9.8 percent, prices for finished goods other than foods and energy rose 2.7 percent, and the index for finished consumer foods went up 4.1 percent. At the earlier stages of processing, prices for intermediate goods moved up 8.7 percent during the 12 months ended January 2005, while the crude goods index gained 10.8 percent.

Finished goods

Prices for finished consumer goods other than foods and energy climbed 0.9 percent in January, after inching up 0.1 percent in December. The cigarettes index rose 3.4 percent in January, compared with a 0.1-percent increase a month earlier. Prices for light motor trucks and pharmaceutical preparations also went up faster than they did in December. The indexes for alcoholic beverages, passenger cars, and sporting and athletic goods turned up in January, following declines in the preceding month. Prices for women's, girls', and infants' apparel, as well as for household furniture, advanced after showing no change in the previous month. Alternatively, the index for cosmetics and other toilet preparations decreased 0.2 percent in January, following a 0.5-percent gain in December. Prices for platinum and karat gold jewelry also turned down, while the pet food index fell, after remaining unchanged in December. (See table 2.)

The finished energy goods index moved down 1.0 percent in January, following a 2.5-percent decline in December. In January, falling prices for gasoline, residential natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas outweighed increasing prices for residential electric power and home heating oil.

The capital equipment index advanced 0.6 percent in January, after posting a 0.2-percent gain in the preceding month. Prices for communication and related equipment turned up 0.5 percent, following a 0.9-percent decrease in December. The indexes for passenger cars and truck trailers also increased, after falling a month earlier. Prices for heavy motor trucks, light motor trucks, and printed circuit board manufacturing machinery moved up more in January than they did in December. The index for construction machinery and equipment rose 0.9 percent, following no change in December, while prices for integrating and measuring instruments were unchanged in January, after declining in the prior month. By contrast, the index for electronic computers dropped 6.1 percent, compared with a 0.4-percent dip in December. Price increases slowed from December to January for railroad equipment, while the indexes for transformers and power regulators, x-ray and electromedical equipment, and metal cutting machine tools turned down.

Prices for finished consumer foods went down 0.2 percent in January, after edging up 0.1 percent in the previous month. The eggs for fresh use index fell 23.5 percent, following a 22.9-percent upsurge in December. Prices for fresh fruits and melons, soft drinks, and processed young chickens also moved down, after rising a month earlier. The indexes for beef and veal and for dairy products advanced less in January than they did in December. By contrast, price decreases for fresh and dry vegetables slowed from 26.4 percent in December to 12.0 percent in January. The roasted coffee index jumped 10.8 percent, following no change in the prior month. Prices for confectionery end products and processed turkeys increased more in January than they did in December.

Intermediate goods

The Producer Price Index for Intermediate Materials, Supplies, and Components increased 0.4 percent in January, after inching down 0.1 percent in the previous month. Prices for materials for durable manufacturing, materials and components for construction, materials for nondurable manufacturing, and intermediate foods and feeds rose in January, while the intermediate energy goods index declined. Excluding prices for foods and energy, the index for intermediate goods advanced 0.8 percent, following a 0.5-percent gain in December. (See table B.)

Prices for materials for durable manufacturing increased 1.8 percent in January, compared with a 1.1-percent rise in the preceding month. The aluminum mill shapes index advanced 4.0 percent, following a 2.1-percent gain in the previous month. The indexes for cold rolled steel sheet and strip, cement, and prepared paint also increased more than they did in December. Prices for adhesives and sealants and hardwood lumber turned up, after falling a month earlier. Alternatively, the hot rolled steel bars, plates, and structural shapes index declined 0.5 percent in January, after moving up 2.1 percent in the previous month. Prices for plywood, copper cathode and refined copper, copper and brass mill shapes, and cold finished steel bars rose less than they did in December, while the semifinished steel mill products index decreased in January, after showing no change in the prior month. (See table 2.)