May EPI Index Shows No Change Again

Continuing the long trend of virtually no monthly change, Electrical Marketing’s May Electrical Price Index (EPI) remained the same as April and is up only 0.3% from May 2013. Power Wire & Cable (+5.7%) showed the biggest monthly increase, followed by Ballasts (+2.2%), while Metal Conduit (-1.6%) and Switchgear (-1.5%) showed the biggest declines for the month.

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