AGC: PPI plunges, but not for all construction inputs

The Producer Price Index for finished goods dropped 2.9 percent before seasonal adjustment (-2.2 percent, seasonally adjusted) in November, and rose only 0.4 percent from November 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday. The PPI for inputs to construction industries fell 3.2 percent for the month but was 4.9 percent higher than in November 2007. The segment with the largest decline for the month was highway and street construction, -6.6 percent and 3.7 percent year-over-year; followed by other heavy construction, -4.8 percent and 4.0 percent; nonresidential buildings, -3.3 percent and 4.2 percent; multi-unit residential buildings, -1.9 percent and 4.5 percent; and single-unit residential, -1.3 percent and 6.2 percent. PPIs for several construction materials declined sharply for the month and year: diesel fuel, -20 percent and -24 percent; copper and brass mill shapes, -11 percent and -19 percent; aluminum mill shapes, -3.8 percent and -1.1 percent; and lumber and plywood, -2.0 percent and -6.0 percent, according to a Dec. 12 Data DIGest report.

Read full article