Producer Price Indexes - March 2007

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Producer Price Indexes - March 2007

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased 1.0 percent in
March, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor reported today. This advance followed a 1.3-percent
rise in February and a 0.6-percent decrease in January. The index for
finished goods excluding foods and energy was unchanged in March after
moving up 0.4 percent in February. At the earlier stages of processing,
prices received by producers of intermediate goods increased 1.0 percent in
March following a 1.1-percent advance a month earlier, and the crude goods
index rose 3.2 percent after climbing 8.9 percent in February. (See table
A.)

Table A. Monthly and annual percent changes in selected stage-of-processing price
indexes, seasonally adjusted
______________________________________________________________________________________
| | | | |
| | Finished goods | | |
| | | | |
| |---------------------------------------------------------| | |
| | | | | | Change in | | |
| | | | | Except |finished goods| Inter- | |
| | | | |foods and|from 12 months| mediate | Crude |
| Month | Total | Foods | Energy | energy | ago(unadj.) | goods | goods |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
2006
Mar. 0.4 0.4 1.3 0.2 3.6 0.3 -2.4
Apr. .7 .5 2.6 .1 4.1 .7 2.5
May .2 -.8 1.1 .2 4.5 1.2 1.7
June .5 1.2 1.1 .1 4.9 .5 -2.6
July -.1 .1 .7 -.5 4.0 .2 2.8
Aug. .4 1.2 -.5 .4 3.8 .4 2.6
Sept. -1.1 .4 -5.9 .3 .9 -1.3 -3.8
Oct. -1.5 -.4 -5.8 -.4 -1.2 -1.2 -9.2
Nov. r 1.6 r .1 r 5.4 r .9 .9 r .6 r 11.7
Dec. r .8 r 1.3 r 2.3 r .1 1.1 r .8 r 5.1

2007
Jan. -.6 1.1 -4.6 .2 .2 -.7 -6.3
Feb. 1.3 1.9 3.5 .4 2.5 1.1 8.9
Mar. 1.0 1.4 3.6 0 3.2 1.0 3.2
r=revised. Some of the figures shown above and elsewhere in this release may differ
from those previously reported because data for November 2006 have been revised to
reflect the availability of late reports and corrections by respondents.


-2-

Among finished goods, the index for consumer goods less foods and
energy edged up 0.1 percent in March following a 0.5-percent increase in
the preceding month, while capital equipment prices moved down 0.1 percent
after advancing 0.3 percent in February. The consumer foods index rose
less in March than it had a month earlier-1.4 and 1.9 percent,
respectively. By contrast, slightly counteracting the deceleration in
finished goods prices, the index for energy goods increased 3.6 percent in
March compared with a rise of 3.5 percent in February.

During the first quarter of 2007, the finished goods index climbed at
a 6.9-percent seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), after moving up at a
3.5-percent SAAR during the fourth quarter of 2006. This faster rate of
increase can be traced primarily to prices for finished consumer foods,
which advanced at an 18.7-percent SAAR for the 3 months ended March 2007
after rising at a 3.6-percent SAAR for the 3 months ended December 2006.
The index for finished energy goods increased at a 9.4-percent SAAR during
the first quarter of 2007 after moving up at a 6.6-percent SAAR during the
fourth quarter of 2006. Prices for finished goods less foods and energy
advanced at a 2.3-percent SAAR for the 3 months ended in March, the same as
for the 3 months ended in December. At the earlier stages of processing,
the intermediate goods index increased at a 5.9-percent SAAR during the
first quarter of 2007 after inching up at a 0.7-percent SAAR during the
fourth quarter of 2006, and prices for crude goods jumped at a 23.5-percent
SAAR for the 3 months ended in March after climbing at a 29.0-percent SAAR
for the 3 months ended in December. (See summary table below.)

Summary of December-to-December and 3-month seasonally adjusted annual rates of change in
price indexes at selected stages of process
______________________________________________________________________________________________
| | Percentage | |
| | change 12 | Seasonally adjusted annual rate for |
| | months ended | 3 months ended |
| Grouping | December | |
| |--------------------|----------------------------------------|
| | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |June 2006|Sept. 2006|Dec. 2006|Mar. 2007|
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Finished goods 4.2 5.4 1.1 5.6 -3.2 3.5 6.9
Finished consumer foods 3.1 1.7 1.8 3.1 6.8 3.6 18.7
Finished energy goods 13.4 23.9 -2.0 21.2 -21.1 6.6 9.4
Finished goods less foods
and energy 2.3 1.4 2.0 1.5 .5 2.3 2.3
Finished consumer goods,
excluding foods and energy 2.2 1.6 1.8 1.0 .2 1.7 3.1
Capital equipment 2.4 1.2 2.3 2.2 1.1 2.7 1.9

Intermediate materials,
supplies, and components 9.2 8.6 2.8 10.3 -2.9 .7 5.9
Intermediate foods and feeds -2.3 2.4 5.7 -.6 3.9 22.1 27.5
Intermediate energy goods 15.8 26.2 -4.4 14.7 -24.0 3.3 19.7
Intermediate materials less
foods and energy 8.3 4.8 4.7 9.8 3.7 -1.0 1.7
Materials for nondurable
manufacturing 13.7 8.9 2.1 11.8 -3.8 -4.5 6.1
Materials for durable
manufacturing 18.3 5.9 13.1 34.2 8.3 -2.3 3.0
Materials and components
for construction 10.1 6.1 4.3 8.0 4.1 -2.1 2.1

Crude materials for further
processing 17.4 21.1 -2.4 6.4 5.9 29.0 23.5
Foodstuffs and feedstuffs -2.6 1.6 2.9 2.5 18.8 22.9 59.3
Crude energy materials 35.9 42.2 -11.4 -11.3 2.6 54.0 -11.6
Crude nonfood materials
less energy 20.5 5.2 16.7 66.6 -2.3 -7.0 59.8
NOTE: Late reports and corrections by respondents may cause some indexes to change 4 months
after original publication. In addition, seasonally adjusted indexes may be revised for 5
years, due to the recalculation of seasonal factors each January.


-3-

Before seasonal adjustment, the Producer Price Index for Finished
Goods rose 1.4 percent in March to 164.2 (1982 = 100). From March 2006 to
March 2007, finished goods prices advanced 3.2 percent. Over the same
period, the index for finished consumer foods increased 7.8 percent, prices
for finished goods less foods and energy moved up 1.7 percent, and the
index for finished energy goods rose 2.8 percent. For the 12 months ended
in March, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods advanced
3.5 percent, and the crude goods index jumped 15.6 percent.