PRODUCER PRICES OF HIGHWAY AND STREET CONSTRUCTION
PRODUCER PRICES OF HIGHWAY AND STREET CONSTRUCTION
Producer Price Index: Highways and Streets (monthly data, not seasonally adjusted)
Road Construction Costs (Index) (quarterly data, not seasonally adjusted)
Highway and street construction prices for the 12 months ending in November 2001 declined at the fastest rate since the end of the previous recession. These construction producer prices exclude direct labor costs and are primarily composed of prices for primary commodities: lumber, iron, concrete. Because demand from the overall construction is sensitive to income, prices fro these components will be cyclical. Prices may lag changes in income due to the continuation of projects underway and contractual arrangements.
Construction prices for highways and streets represent the price to government in providing a key component of transportation infrastructure.
| Producer Price Index (Jun-1986=100) | Feb-01 | Feb-02 |
|---|---|---|
| Highways and streets | 138.2 | 132.7 |
| Highways and streets percent change from same month previous year | 3.13 | -3.98 |
NOTES: The current value is compared to the value from the same period in the previous year to account for seasonality.
Data from November 2001 to February 2002 are preliminary.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, available at: http://www.bls.gov/ppi/.
| Road Construction Costs Index: 1987 = 100 | Q3 00 | Q3 01 |
|---|---|---|
| Road construction costs | 137.9 | 140.6 |
| Road construction costs percent change from same quarter previous year | 4.63 | 1.96 |
NOTES: The current value is compared to the value from the same period in the previous year to account for seasonality.
Trends in highway construction costs are measured by an index of average contract prices compiled from reports of state highway contract awards for federal-aid contracts greater than $500,000. Since the enactment of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, the index reflects federal-aid contracts on the National Highway System.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, publication FHWA-IF-02-007, Jan. 10, 2002, and previous releases.