About three-fourths of the broad-based January advance in the finished goods index can be traced to higher prices for energy goods, which jumped 5.1 percent. The indexes for finished goods less foods and energy and for finished consumer foods also contributed to the finished goods increase, rising 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
Finished energy: The index for finished energy goods rose 5.1 percent in January, its fourth consecutive monthly increase. About two-thirds of the January advance can be attributed to an 11.5-percent jump in gasoline prices. Increases in the indexes for liquefied petroleum gas and home heating oil also were major factors in the finished energy goods rise.
Finished core: The index for finished goods less foods and energy moved up 0.3 percent in January after no change in December. Leading this advance, the index for light motor trucks rose 1.9 percent. Higher prices for pharmaceutical preparations also contributed to the increase in the finished core index.
Finished foods: The index for finished consumer foods moved up 0.4 percent in January, its fourth consecutive monthly advance. A major factor in the January rise was a 3.0-percent increase in meat prices.
Intermediate goods
The Producer Price Index for Intermediate Materials, Supplies, and Components climbed 1.7 percent in January, its largest increase since a similar 1.7-percent advance in August 2009. Accounting for about three-fourths of the January rise, prices for intermediate energy goods
jumped 6.9 percent. The index for intermediate materials less foods and energy also contributed to this advance, increasing 0.5 percent. By contrast, prices for intermediate foods and feeds fell 0.3 percent. On a 12-month basis, prices for intermediate goods moved up 4.6 percent, the second consecutive month of year-over-year increases.
Intermediate energy: The index for intermediate energy goods rose 6.9 percent in January, the largest increase since a 9.6-percent jump in November 2007. A major factor in the January advance was a 20.4-percent surge in diesel fuel prices. The indexes for gasoline and jet fuel also contributed significantly to higher intermediate energy goods prices.
Intermediate core: The index for intermediate materials less foods and energy moved up 0.5 percent, its eighth consecutive monthly increase. Nearly half of the January advance can be attributed to a 3.4-percent rise in basic organic chemical prices. An increase in the steel pipe and tube index also was a factor in the intermediate core advance.
Intermediate foods: The index for intermediate foods and feeds fell 0.3 percent, the first decline in six months. This decrease was led by the index for corn, cottonseed, and soybean cake and meal, which dropped 7.5 percent.
Crude goods
The Producer Price Index for Crude Materials for Further Processing climbed 9.6 percent in January. For the 3-month period ending in January, crude material prices rose 16.1 percent, accelerating from an 8.5-percent increase for the 3 months ended October 2009. In January, about three-quarters of the broad-based monthly advance is attributable to a 16.8-percent jump in prices for crude energy materials. Also contributing to the January increase, in roughly equal proportions, the index for crude nonfood materials less energy rose 6.6 percent and prices for crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs moved up 3.2 percent.
Crude energy: The index for crude energy materials jumped 16.8 percent in January. From October through January, prices for crude energy materials climbed 27.5 percent, following a 9.4-percent gain for the 3 months ended October 2009. Two-thirds of the monthly January increase can be traced to a 25.5-percent surge in the natural gas index. Higher crude petroleum prices also contributed to the rise in the index for crude energy materials.
Crude core: The index for crude nonfood materials less energy advanced 6.6 percent in January. For the 3 months ending in January, crude core prices moved up 10.2 percent, compared with a 12.1 percent rise for the 3 months ended October 2009. Over half of January's over-the-month increase is attributable to a 17.3-percent jump in the index for iron and steel scrap. Higher prices for nonferrous scrap and wastepaper also were factors in the January increase for the crude core index.
Crude foods: The index for crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs moved up 3.2 percent in January. For the 3 month period ending in January, prices for crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs rose 7.9 percent, after advancing 5.1 percent for the 3 months ended October 2009. Most of the January increase can be traced to a 5.8-percent rise in the index for slaughter livestock.
Services Analysis
Trade industries: The Producer Price Index for the Net Output of Total Trade Industries fell 0.5 percent in January, its second consecutive decline. (Trade indexes measure changes in margins received by wholesalers and retailers.) About two-thirds of the January decrease is
attributable to a 9.3-percent drop in margins received by gasoline stations. Margins received by general merchandise stores and home centers also fell in January, contributing significantly to the decline in the total trade industries index.
Transportation and warehousing industries: The Producer Price Index for the Net Output of Transportation and Warehousing Industries jumped 1.3 percent in January, its fourth straight advance. Accounting for about forty percent of the January increase, prices received by the
couriers industry rose 6.0 percent. Higher prices received by the air transportation industry group and the industry for pipeline transportation of crude oil also were major factors in the January advance in the transportation and warehousing industries index.
Traditional service industries: The Producer Price Index for the Net Output of Total Traditional Service Industries moved up 1.0 percent in January, its ninth advance in the last ten months. Almost half of the January rise can be traced to a 4.9-percent increase in prices received by the depository credit intermediation industry group. Higher prices received by insurance carriers and offices of physicians also contributed to the advance in the total traditional service industries index.
