EPI Index Shows No Increase in December

Jan. 27, 2012
EM's Electrical Price Index (EPI) registered another month of relatively few gains, as six product categories showed no price movement at all compared

EM's Electrical Price Index (EPI) registered another month of relatively few gains, as six product categories showed no price movement at all compared to November 2011. Only four product categories had changes of more than one percent: power wire & cable (+1.3%); residential lighting (-1.2%); wire devices & connectors (+1.4%); motors (1.2%); and lamps (+3.2%).

Electrical Price Index — December 2011

1997=100Dec. 2011Nov. 2011Dec. 2010% Change1 Mo. 1 Yr. Building Wire & Cable 215.4 215.5 235.1 0.0 -8.4 Power Wire & Cable 207.8 205.1 199.8 1.3 4.0 Telephone 183.2 183.4 171.4 -0.1 6.9 Hand & Power Tools 116.7 116.5 115.9 0.2 0.7 Elec. Heating Equip. 127.4 127.0 124.5 0.3 2.3 Residential Lighting 125.4 126.9 122.0 -1.2 2.7 Industrial Fixtures 124.3 124.3 117.4 0.0 5.8 Fans & Blowers 139.3 139.8 133.7 -0.4 4.1 Wiring Devices & Connectors 128.6 126.9 120.5 1.4 6.8 Pole Line Hardware 147.4 148.4 146.3 -0.7 0.7 Boxes 155.4 156.5 154.3 -0.7 0.7 Conduit Fittings 125.1 125.3 124.8 -0.1 0.3 Metal Conduit 162.9 163.2 162.7 -0.1 0.1 Nonmetallic Conduit 132.3 132.6 132.1 -0.2 0.2 Motors 149.8 148.0 138.5 1.2 8.1 Generators 142.5 141.5 133.9 0.7 6.4 Ballasts 137.4 137.8 137.7 -0.3 -0.3 Elect. Meas. & Integ. Inst. 111.2 111.2 111.2 0.0 0.0 Transformers 126.2 126.2 124.2 0.0 1.6 Panelboards & Switches 150.4 150.4 147.0 0.0 2.3 Circuit Breakers 157.1 157.1 153.5 0.0 2.3 Switchgear 157.9 158.3 157.0 -0.2 0.6 Fuses 144.8 145.0 142.7 -0.1 1.5 Industrial Controls 143.5 143.5 140.3 0.0 2.3 Lamps 129.2 133.5 121.2 -3.2 6.6 Appliances 104.5 105.0 102.3 -0.5 2.1 Air Conditioners 127.2 128.0 120.6 -0.6 5.5 Fasteners 140.7 140.9 137.4 -0.1 2.4 Total Index 141.6 141.6 141.2 0.0 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