EPI Index Drops 1.3% in October

Led by a 5.8%-drop in building wire and cable and a 4.3% decline in power wire & cable, EM's Electrical Price Index (EPI) slid a sizeable 1.3% in October. This follows a 2.9%-decline in September and leaves the EPI up 0.2 percent YTY. The only other categories with changes of more than one percent were telephone (-2.3%) and industrial fixtures (+2.1%)

Electrical Price Index — October 2011

1997=100Oct. 2011Sept. 2011Oct. 2010% Change1 Mo. 1 Yr. Building Wire & Cable 203.7 216.2 222.8 -5.8 -8.6 Power Wire & Cable 208.2 217.6 199.4 -4.3 4.4 Telephone 182 186.3 165.3 -2.3 10.1 Hand & Power Tools 116.6 116.5 115.9 0 0.6 Elec. Heating Equip. 126.7 126.7 124.4 0 1.8 Residential Lighting 125.3 125.2 122 0.1 2.7 Industrial Fixtures 123.2 120.7 117.8 2.1 4.6 Fans & Blowers 140 140.3 133.7 -0.2 4.7 Wiring Devices & Connectors 125.4 125.7 120.7 -0.2 3.9 Pole Line Hardware 148.9 148.4 144.8 0.3 2.8 Boxes 157 156.6 152.7 0.3 2.8 Conduit Fittings 125.3 125.3 124.7 0 0.5 Metal Conduit 163.2 163.2 162.4 0.1 0.5 Nonmetallic Conduit 132.8 132.6 131.7 0.1 0.8 Motors 148 147.3 137.6 0.5 7.5 Generators 141.3 140.9 133 0.3 6.2 Ballasts 137.8 137.4 137.7 0.3 0.1 Elect. Meas. & Integ. Inst. 111.2 111.2 111.2 0 0 Transformers 126.3 127.1 123.6 -0.6 2.2 Panelboards & Switches 149.9 150.4 145.6 -0.3 2.9 Circuit Breakers 156.7 157.1 152.2 -0.3 2.9 Switchgear 157.9 158.4 156.5 -0.3 0.9 Fuses 144.6 145.1 141.8 -0.3 2 Industrial Controls 143.1 143.5 139 -0.3 2.9 Lamps 123.9 123.9 121.7 0 1.8 Appliances 103.7 103.9 102.6 -0.2 1 Air Conditioners 122.4 121.9 121.2 0.4 1 Fasteners 140.6 140.7 136.9 0 2.7 Total Index 139.5 141.3 139.2 -1.3 0.2

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