search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • EBOOKS
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!

Producer prices cool in January; aluminum supplies face threat; IP, housing sag

By Ken Simonson
February 20, 2007

The producer price index (PPI) for finished goods slipped 0.2% in January, seasonally adjusted, and rose just 0.2% over the past 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Friday. The “core” PPI, which omits energy and food costs, rose 0.2% and 1.8%, respectively. The PPI for construction materials and components climbed 0.3% and 3.3%. Among construction segments, the PPI materials and components for highway construction fell 0.7% and rose just 2.8% over 12 months; other heavy construction, -0.5% and 3.7%; nonresidential buildings, -0.2% and 2.7%; multi-unit residential, 0.3% and 3.1%; and single-unit residential, 0.3% and 3.0%. A major contributor to the one-month drop in nonresidential indexes was a plunge in the PPI for diesel fuel, -11% for the month and -8.2% over 12 months. The one-month gain in residential PPIs is attributable in part to a 3.0% monthly increase in the PPI for lumber and plywood; that index fell 11% over 12 months. Among other important inputs, the PPI for aluminum mill shapes rose 1.9% and 11%; concrete products, 1.2% and 5.2%; steel mill products, 0.1% and 3.6%. The PPI for copper and brass mill shapes fell -4.5% for the month but rose 34% over 12 months; asphalt paving mixtures and blocks, -0.1% and 25%; and gypsum products, -0.1% and 3.2%. BLS introduced a PPI for new office building construction, which measures the final cost of a building, including labor and profit, not just materials. That index rose 1.9% for the month and 6.9% from its June 2006 base. BLS has two other indexes for completed buildings: the warehouse index was up 1.3% for the month and 8.2% over 12 months; the school index fell 0.2% for the month but leaped 17.2% over 12 months.

“Escalating violence in [Guinea] has forced some of the world’s biggest aluminium producers to shut down operations and threatens to further boost prices of aluminum,” the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. “Big aluminum users are now waiting to see how long the disruptions last. Industry officials say any big price increase from the violence could take some time to filter up through the supply chain, but prolonged disruptions could result in higher costs….prices have gained 8% this week, pushed higher in part by…violence in Guinea.”

Industrial production (IP) at mines, utilities and factories sank 0.5% in January, seasonally adjusted, mirroring a 0.5% rise in December and bringing the 12-month change to 2.6%, the Federal Reserve reported on Thursday. IP in manufacturing, which along with factory capacity utilization can indicate future demand for plant construction, slumped 0.7% in January after climbing 0.8% in December; over 12 months the index was up 1.8%. Output of construction supplies fell 1.0% in January and 2.8% over 12 months. Capacity utilization in manufacturing slipped to 79.6% of capacity, the first time in more than a year that it has been below the long-term average of 79.8%.

Housing starts imploded 14% in January, seasonally adjusted, and were 38% below the January 2006 level, the Census Bureau reported on Friday. Both December and January 2006 were much warmer and drier than normal, which may have led to more starts in those months than would otherwise have occurred. But building permits, generally a reliable guide to builder’s near-term intentions and not subject to current weather, fell 2.8% compared to December and 29% from January 2006. Single-family starts fell 11% and 39%; multi-family, 24% and 33%. Single-family permits sank 4% and 33%; multi-family, +0.4% and -16%.

The National Association of Home Builders reported on Thursday that its index of home builders’ sentiment, based on a monthly survey, with 50 as neutral, increased from 35 in January to 40 in February, up from a low of 30 last September and the highest level since June 2006. “All three component indexes registered improvement in February. The index gauging current single-family home sales gained six points to 42, while the component measuring the traffic of prospective buyers rose five points to 31…The index gauging sales expectations for the next six months jumped over the 50 threshold for the first time since last June, posting a seven-point gain to 55.”

The National Association of Realtors reported on Thursday that the median sales price of existing single-family houses (the price above which half of all sales occurred) fell 2.7% in the fourth quarter compared to one year earlier, the first annual drop in the 27-year history of the series. The median fell in 73 out of 149 metro areas, rose in 71, and was unchanged in five. The largest single-family home price increase was in the Atlantic City, N.J., area, 26%, followed by the Salt Lake City area, 23%, and Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey, 19%. At the bottom were three formerly fast-rising areas in Florida: Cape Coral-Fort Myers, -12%, Palm Bay-Melbourne, 17%, and Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, -18%. USA Today (www.money.usatoday.com) posted the full list. Metro area condominium and cooperative prices-covering changes in 58 markets-show ­the national median existing condo price was down 2.1%, with decreases in 27 metros and increases in 31. The strongest condo price gains were in Austin-Round Rock, Texas, and Newark-Union, NJ-Pennsylvania, both up 16%, and Springfield, Massachusetts, 15%.



Links

  • Producer Price Index (01/2007)

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Chief Economist, Associated General Contractors of America 703-837-5313; fax -5406; www.agc.org

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Worker using the Milwaukee Tool SWITCH PACK drain cleaner

    Pipeline profits: Drain cleaning, pipe inspection create opportunities

    Drain cleaning and inspection services offer lucrative...
    Green Plumbing and Mechanical
    By: Nicole Krawcke
  • Uponor employee, Arturo Moreno

    The reinvestment in American manufacturing and training

    Plumbing & Mechanical Chief Editor Nicole Krawcke and...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke and Natalie Forster
  • March 2024 Women in Plumbing hero image of woman engineer overlayed by circle of hexagon shapes with numbers from 1 to 10

    Celebrating 10 Influential Women in the Plumbing Industry

    Celebrating Women's History Month and Women in...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
Subscribe For Free!
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • eMagazine
  • Manage My Preferences

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Plumbing & Mechanical audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Plumbing & Mechanical or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • J.J. Keller CMV vehicles on road
    Sponsored byJ. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

    The dash cam game-changer for small business safety

Popular Stories

Underfloor heating installation with drain sewer hole in bathroom close up on water floor heating.

Using hydronics to leverage time-of-use electrical rates

Watts Nexa mobile image

Behind the Wall: Where smart plumbing gets smarter

Six tankless water heaters that feed the nutraceutical manufacturer’s operations.

How to deliver large volumes of hot water quickly and intermittently

PMCE Home-X April 29 Free Webinar: From Legacy to Leadership: Preparing Your Home Services Business for the Next Generation

Events

November 13, 2024

Future Proofing MEP: Navigating the 2026 High Efficiency Water Heating Standards

Join our deep dive into DOE’s new standards so you can future-proof your MEP practice.

EARN: 0.1 ASPE CEU; 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 IACET CEU*; 1 PDH

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Will business be up or down in 2025?

Do you anticipate business in 2025 to be up or down in comparison to 2024?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

The Water Came To A Stop

The Water Came To A Stop

See More Products

Download the FREE Water Conservation, Quality & Safety eBook: Plumbing Trends Increasing Safe Water Availability

Related Articles

  • Producer prices, industrial production rise in October overall and for construction

    See More
  • PPI growth slows but steel prices soar again; cement supplies and prices vary

    See More
  • Construction costs cool but still outstrip overall CPI, PPI; housing, hotels stay hot
    May 20, 2005

    See More
×

Keep your content unclogged with our newsletters!

Stay in the know on the latest plumbing & piping industry trends.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Supply House Times
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing