After several years of little or no growth, Electrical Marketing’s Electrical Price Index (EPI) is on the move, with a +0.3% increase in March to 148.4 points; that’s up +2.6% year-over-year (YOY). Pole-line hardware (+2.4%); Boxes (+2.4%); and Conduit Fittings (+1.3%) lead the YOY increases. Power Wire & Cable had a surprising -3.5% decline in March and was down -14.5% YOY. YOY changes were dramatic across the board.
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