Electrical Marketing’s Electrical Price Index (EPI) edged slightly lower in March with a 0.1% decline, but was up 0.9% over March 2013. The decline was led by a 3.1% drop in the switchgear category and a 2.2% decrease in power wire and cable. Fuses (-1.4%) were the only other category with a March decline of more than one percent. No categories saw major gains last month.
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