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http://stats.bls.gov/ppihome.htm SEPTEMBER 14, 2000
Producer Price Indexes -- August 2000
The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods decreased 0.2 percent in
August, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor reported today. This index showed no change in July
and increased 0.6 percent in June. The index for finished goods other than
foods and energy edged up 0.1 percent in August, the same rate as in July.
Prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods fell 0.2 percent,
following a 0.2-percent advance a month earlier. The crude goods index
decreased 1.5 percent, after falling 1.1 percent in July. (See table A.)
Table A. Monthly and annual percent changes in selected stage-of-
processing price indexes, seasonally adjusted
Finished
goods
Change in
finished
Except goods
foods from 12 Inter-
and months mediate Crude
Month Total Foods Energy energy ago goods goods
(unadj.)
1999
Aug. 0.6 0.5 3.3 0.1 2.3 0.5 5.1
Sept. .8 .7 2.1 .6 3.1 .5 4.6
Oct. 0 -.3 -.4 .2 2.8 .2 -2.4
Nov. .1 -.2 1.1 -.1 3.1 .2 5.2
Dec. .1 0 .7 .1 2.9 .3 -4.9
2000
Jan. .1 .2 .9 -.2 2.5 .5 2.6
Feb. 1.1 .5 5.3 .3 4.0 .9 3.9
Mar. .7 .1 4.4 .1 4.3 .9 2.2
Apr. r-.4 r1.1 r-3.9 r.1 r3.6 -.1 r-1.5
May r.2 r-.4 r.4 r.3 3.9 -.1 r2.5
June .6 -.3 5.1 -.1 4.3 .9 5.8
July 0 0 -.7 .1 4.1 .2 -1.1
Aug. -.2 -.7 -.2 .1 3.3 -.2 -1.5
r=revised. Some of the figures shown above and elsewhere in
this release may differ from those previously reported because
data for April 2000 have been revised to reflect the
availability of late reports and corrections by respondents.
-2-
Among finished goods, prices for finished consumer foods declined 0.7
percent in August, and the finished energy goods index decreased 0.2
percent. Prices for finished consumer goods other than foods and energy
edged up 0.1 percent, and the index for capital equipment showed no change
in August.
Before seasonal adjustment, the Producer Price Index for Finished
Goods fell 0.1 percent in August to stand at 138.1 (1982=100). From August
1999 to August 2000, prices for finished goods rose 3.3 percent. The main
cause of this increase can be traced to a 15.3-percent advance in prices
for finished energy goods. During the same period, prices for finished
goods other than foods and energy rose 1.5 percent, and prices for finished
consumer foods increased 0.7 percent. Prices received by manufacturers of
intermediate goods rose 4.3 percent for the 12 months ended in August, and
the index for crude goods advanced 15.6 percent during the same period.
Finished goods
The index for finished consumer foods dropped 0.7 percent in August,
after showing no change in July. Prices for dairy products turned down 3.5
percent, following a 0.7-percent increase in the prior month. The indexes
for pork, bakery products, and roasted coffee also fell, after rising in
July. Prices for fresh fruits and melons and for beef and veal fell at a
faster pace in August than in July. By contrast, the August index for eggs
for fresh use turned up 19.4 percent, following a 17.4-percent decrease a
month ago. Prices for fresh and dry vegetables and processed young
chickens also rose, after falling in July.
Table B. Monthly and annual percent changes in selected price indexes for
intermediate goods and crude goods, seasonally adjusted
Intermediate Crude goods
goods
Change in
intermediate Change in
goods crude goods
Excluding from Excluding from
foods 12 months foods 12 months
and ago Energy and ago
Month Foods Energy energy (unadj.) Foods (unadj.) energy (unadj.)
1999
Aug. 1.3 2.5 0.2 1.1 3.6 8.6 1.9 9.3
Sept. 1.0 1.9 .1 2.0 1.3 9.3 1.8 16.5
Oct. .8 -.8 .2 2.2 .1 -7.0 2.4 10.6
Nov. -.6 1.8 .1 2.8 1.0 11.5 1.0 16.7
Dec. -1.9 1.4 .1 3.7 -2.0 -11.1 2.5 15.3
2000
Jan. .1 1.8 .4 4.1 .7 4.7 2.3 17.4
Feb. .5 4.3 .3 5.4 .6 8.9 .6 25.1
Mar. 1.0 3.6 .4 5.9 3.6 2.3 -.5 26.9
Apr. r.8 r-2.8 r.4 5.3 r1.5 r-4.5 r-1.0 r22.2
May r.5 r-.8 r0 5.0 r-1.7 r8.1 r-.4 18.5
June .4 4.7 .2 5.4 -2.6 16.2 -1.3 25.2
July -.7 .5 .2 5.0 -2.7 .4 -1.8 23.4
Aug. -2.5 .3 -.1 4.3 -4.5 .6 -1.3 15.6
r=revised. Some of the figures shown above and elsewhere in this release
may differ from those previously reported because data for April 2000
have been revised to reflect the availability of late reports and
corrections by respondents.
-3-
The finished energy goods index fell 0.2 percent in August, after
decreasing 0.7 percent in July. This slower rate of decline was primarily
due to the gasoline index, which fell 2.8 percent in August following a 9.1-
percent drop in the previous month. Prices for finished lubricants and
home heating oil turned up, after decreasing in July. Conversely, the
residential natural gas index turned down 0.3 percent, following a 6.2-
percent advance in the prior month. Prices for liquefied petroleum gas
also fell, after rising last month. The index for residential electric
power rose less in August than in July.
The index for finished consumer goods other than foods and energy
edged up 0.1 percent in August, the same rate as in July. Price increases
for cigarettes, prescription drugs, mobile homes, and book publishing
slightly outweighed price decreases for passenger cars, household
appliances, alcoholic beverages, and sanitary paper products.
The capital equipment index showed no change in August, following a
0.1-percent increase in July. Rising prices for civilian aircraft, heavy
motor trucks, pumps and compressors, truck trailers, and construction
machinery and equipment offset falling prices for passenger cars,
electronic computers, x-ray and electromedical equipment, light motor
trucks, and office and store machines.
Intermediate goods
The Producer Price Index for Intermediate Materials, Supplies, and
Components declined 0.2 percent in August, after posting a 0.2-percent gain
in the prior month. This downturn was led by prices for nondurable
manufacturing materials, which also decreased in August following an
increase in July. The index for intermediate foods and feeds fell more
than in the previous month. Prices for durable manufacturing materials
declined, after rising a month ago. The index for intermediate energy
goods advanced less than in the prior month. By contrast, prices for
materials and components for construction declined less than in July.
Following a 0.2-percent gain in July, the index for intermediate materials
other than foods and energy fell 0.1 percent in August, the first decline
in this index since February 1999. (See table B.)
Prices for nondurable manufacturing materials fell 0.5 percent in
August, after registering a 0.9-percent gain in July. The industrial
chemicals index declined 1.6 percent, following a 2.5-percent increase in
the previous month. Prices for gray fabrics showed no change, after rising
a month ago. The index for nitrogenates increased at a slower pace than in
July. Prices for plastic resins and materials fell more than a month ago.
On the other hand, the index for medicinal and botanical chemicals
increased 0.6 percent, following a 1.2-percent drop in July. Prices for
synthetic fibers and leather also rose, after falling in the previous
month. The synthetic rubber index registered a higher rate of increase in
August than in July.
Prices for intermediate foods and feeds fell 2.5 percent in August,
following a 0.7-percent decline in July. The index for prepared animal
feeds decreased 4.1 percent, after posting a 1.7-percent drop a month ago.
The indexes for crude vegetable oils and for beef and veal also fell more
than a month earlier. Prices for pork; natural, processed, and imitation
cheese; fluid milk products; and refined sugar turned down, following gains
in the prior month. By contrast, flour prices increased 0.7 percent in
August, after declining 1.5 percent in July. The index for dry, condensed,
and evaporated milk products rose more than in the previous month. Butter
prices decreased less than last month.
-4-
The index for durable manufacturing materials fell 0.2 percent in
August, following a 0.1-percent gain in July. Prices for primary aluminum
(except extrusion billet) declined 1.8 percent, after posting a 2.9-percent
increase a month ago. The indexes for flat glass, cold rolled sheet and
strip, cold finished bars, and semi-finished steel mill products also
turned down, after rising in the prior month. Prices for hot rolled sheet
and strip and for building paper and board decreased more than a month
earlier. Conversely, the index for aluminum mill shapes advanced 0.7
percent in August, following a 0.3-percent increase in July. Prices for
copper and brass mill shapes also rose more than in the previous month.
The index for hot rolled bars, plates, and structural shapes fell less than
last month.
Prices for intermediate energy goods increased 0.3 percent in August,
after registering a 0.5-percent rise in July. The index for commercial
natural gas fell 0.9 percent, following a 6.8-percent advance in the prior
month. Prices for industrial electric power, industrial natural gas,
diesel fuel, and jet fuels rose less than a month ago. The indexes for
residual fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, and natural gas to electric
utilities turned down, after increasing a month earlier. By contrast,
price declines for gasoline slowed from 9.1 percent in July to 2.8 percent
in August. The commercial electric power index rose slightly more in
August than in the prior month.
The index for materials and components for construction decreased 0.1
percent in August, following a 0.3-percent drop in July. Softwood lumber
prices declined 1.7 percent, after falling 3.3 percent in the prior month.
The indexes for nonferrous wire and cable, fabricated structural metal
products, fabricated ferrous wire products, plastic construction products,
and switchgear advanced, following declines a month ago. Heating equipment
prices showed no change in August, after falling a month earlier. On the
other hand, the gypsum products index fell 4.7 percent in August, following
a 2.6-percent drop in July. Millwork prices decreased, after showing no
change a month ago. The index for wiring devices declined, after rising in
the previous month, while plywood prices fell more than in July.
Crude goods
The Producer Price Index for Crude Materials for Further Processing
declined 1.5 percent in August, after falling 1.1 percent in July. This
faster rate of decline was caused by larger price decreases for crude
foodstuffs and feedstuffs. By contrast, prices for basic industrial
materials fell less than in the prior month. The index for crude energy
materials rose more than a month earlier. (See table B.)
The index for crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs fell 4.5 percent in
August, following a 2.7-percent decrease in July. Slaughter hog prices
dropped 17.1 percent, after rising 4.8 percent a month ago. The index for
fluid milk also turned down, after increasing in the prior month. Prices
for wheat, fresh fruits and melons, slaughter broilers and fryers, and
unprocessed shellfish fell more than a month earlier. Conversely, corn
prices posted a 5.5-percent decline in August, after falling 14.2 percent
in July. The index for soybeans also fell less than in the previous month.
Prices for fresh and dry vegetables and slaughter turkeys turned up, after
falling a month ago.
The index for basic industrial materials decreased 1.3 percent in
August, after posting a 1.8-percent drop in July. The main cause of the
August decline was a 15.7-percent decrease in wastepaper prices. The
indexes for softwood logs and gold ores also fell in August. By contrast,
the indexes for raw cotton, copper base scrap, copper ores, and for
construction sand, gravel, and crushed stone increased in August.
The index for crude energy materials increased 0.6 percent in August,
after registering a 0.4-percent advance in July. Crude petroleum prices
turned up 2.2 percent, following a 7.2-percent drop in the previous month.
By contrast, the natural gas index increased 0.6 percent, after rising 6.4
percent a month ago. Coal prices declined 3.5 percent, following a 0.6-
percent increase in July.
-5-
Net output price indexes for mining, manufacturing, and services industries
Mining. The Producer Price Index for the Net Output of Total Domestic
Mining Industries rose 0.5 percent in August, after registering a 0.9-
percent gain in July. (Net output price indexes are not seasonally
adjusted.) Leading the deceleration among mining industries, the index for
the bituminous coal and lignite industry fell 2.3 percent, following a 0.5-
percent rise a month earlier. Prices received by the crude petroleum,
natural gas and natural gas liquids industry and the drilling oil and gas
wells industry rose less than in the prior month. The indexes for the
potash, soda, and borate minerals industry; oil and gas exploration service
industry; and coal mining service industry turned down, after rising a
month ago. By contrast, prices received by the copper ores industry
advanced 3.7 percent in August, following a 1.0-percent decline in July.
The index for the crushed and broken granite industry also turned up, after
falling in the previous month. Prices received by the clay and related
minerals, miscellaneous nonmetallic minerals, and dimension stone
industries rose more than a month ago. In August, the Producer Price Index
for the Net Output of Total Domestic Mining Industries stood at 115.4
(December 1984=100), 36.2 percent above its year-ago level.
Manufacturing. The Producer Price Index for the Net Output of Total
Domestic Manufacturing Industries decreased 0.1 percent in August, after
posting a 0.3-percent decrease in the prior month. Leading the
acceleration, prices received by the petroleum refining and related
products industry group turned up 0.2 percent, following a 4.6-percent
decline a month ago. The indexes for the tobacco manufactures and the
measuring and controlling instruments industry groups rose, after showing
no change a month earlier. Prices received by miscellaneous manufacturing
industries and primary metal industries turned up, after falling in the
prior month. By contrast, the index for the food and kindred products
industry group decreased 0.9 percent in August, compared to the 0.2-percent
increase shown in July. Prices received by the chemicals and allied
products industry group and the machinery (except electrical) industry
group also turned down, after rising a month ago. The indexes for the
electrical and electronic machinery industry group and the transportation
industry group fell, following no change in July. In August, the Producer
Price Index for the Net Output of Total Domestic Manufacturing Industries
stood at 133.4 (December 1984=100), 3.4 percent above its year-ago level.
Services. Among service industries in August, price increases were
registered by general medical and surgical hospitals, trucking (except
local), deep sea foreign transportation of freight, skilled and
intermediate care facilities, and hotels and motels. By contrast, the
indexes for offices of physicians, telephone communications (except
radiotelephone), life insurance carriers, and for cable and other pay
television services declined this month.
*****
Producer Price Index data for September 2000 will be
released on Friday, October 13, 2000 at 8:30 a.m. (E.D.T.)
Bureau of Labor Statistics
mailto:ppi-info@bls.gov
Last modified:
Thursday, September 14, 2000
URL: /news.release/ppi.nr0.htm
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Producer Price Indexes