EPI Continues Slide in 2016 with -0.1% Drop

Same old, same old with EM’s Electrical Price Index (EPI), with a Jan. 2016 drop of -0.1% to 144.9. Interestingly, the main culprits in the decline were not in the wire and cable categories, but instead in Generators (-1.7%) and Switchgear (-1.1%). Quite a few categories showed year-over-year  drops of more than 3%, including wire and cable, wiring devices, telephone, metal conduit and appliances.

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