Electrical prices held steady in May with only slight moves up or down, according to the Electrical Price Index. The one exception was power wire & cable, which gained 3.5% over April levels but is up only 0.1% since this time last year. Other gainers on the month included air conditioners (up 0.8%) and lamps (0.7%). Biggest losers — telephone wire, industrial fixtures and transformers —dropped only 0.3%.
Note: All EPI series represent Global Insight aggregates of Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) producer price indices (PPIs). The revised data partly reflect redefinitions of specific PPIs by the BLS, but mostly reflect the rebenchmarking of all EPI price series to a 1997 base year. The four following EPI series have been affected by BLS redefinitions: boxes, conduit (fittings), nonmetallic conduit, and generators. Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Global Insight