Although a -1.1% total decline in EM’s Electrical Price Index isn’t unheard of, significant declines in Feb. 2019 in two core electrical product categories caught our eye. Conduit Fittings dropped a whopping -10.3% month-to-month (MTM) and was down -2.7% year-over-year (YOY). Nonmetallic Conduit was down -7.9% for the month and -1.1% YOY. Power Wire & Cable (+1.7%) was the only other product category with a change of more than 1%.
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