PPI rises overall but is mixed for construction; ABI, Reed institutional sectors improve

The producer price index for finished goods climbed 0.4 percentin October, not seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday [Nov. 17]. The PPI for inputs to construction industries, a weighted average of materials used in every type of construction, including diesel fuel and other items consumed by contractors, fell 0.2percentfor the month and 5.8 percent compared to October 2008. As usual, there was wide variation in PPIs for different inputs. The PPI for diesel fuel jumped 5.1 percent for the month but fell 28 percent year-over-year; steel mill products, 2.7 percent and -25 percent; plastic construction products, 0.3 percent and -1.8 percent; concrete products, -0.4 percent and -0.9 percent; aluminum mill shapes, -0.7 percent and -16 percent; gypsum products, -1.9 percent and -7.2 percent; copper and brass mill shapes, -3.3 percent and 3.7 percent. PPIs for new nonresidentialbuildings, which include contractors’ overhead and profit, generally fell for the one- and 12-month periods: industrial buildings, -0.1 percent and -4.5 percent; office, -0.2 percent and -3.4 percent; warehouses, -1.1 percent and -4.6 percent. But the PPI for new school construction rose 0.7 percent and 1.6 percent. PPIs for nonresidential building subcontractors were mixed: plumbing contractors, 1.1 percent and 1.5 percent; electrical, 0.8 percent and -2.5 percent; roofing, 0.3 percent and 3.2 percent; and concrete, -1.3 percent and -1.6 percent, according to a Nov. 18 Data DIGest report.

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