Eye On Housing
Inflation in prices received by producers (prior to sales to consumers) held steady in August after a striking 0.4% decline in July. The flat reading was the result of a 0.1% increase in prices for services combined with a 0.4% drop in goods prices, according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (more weight is… Read More ›
Contrary to economists’ expectations of a small gain, inflation in prices received by producers (prior to sales to consumers) fell 0.4% in July, nearly erasing June’s 0.5% increase. According to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the decline was a result of nearly identical drops in prices of services and goods of 0.3%… Read More ›
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Producer Price Indexes (PPI) for April today. Overall, the PPI for finished goods declined 0.2 percent from March on a seasonally adjusted basis, as a 1.4 percent decline in energy prices outpaced 0.2 percent gains in both food goods and the core index (i.e., finished goods less food and energy). In a… Read More ›
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Producer Price Indexes (PPI) for March last week. The PPI for finished goods was unchanged from February on a seasonally adjusted basis, as a 1.0 percent decline in energy prices offset a 0.2 percent increase in food goods and a 0.3 percent increase in the core index (i.e., finished goods less food… Read More ›
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Producer Price Indexes (PPI) for February last week (PPI). The PPI for finished goods rose 0.4 percent in February from January on a seasonally adjusted basis. Excluding food and energy, the core index for finished goods rose 0.2 percent. The monthly data can be volatile, but these growth rates are roughly in… Read More ›
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Producer Price Indexes (PPI) for January on Thursday. The index for finished goods rose 0.1 percent in January from December, balancing a 0.4 percent increase in the core index and declines in the food (-0.3 percent) and energy (-0.5 percent) indexes, keeping the overall index in line with its relatively flat trajectory… Read More ›
With the end of 2011 approaching, the contributors of NAHB’s Eye on Housing thought it would be useful to take a look at the updates that attracted the most readers over the last year. In November, we examined a possible 2012 price increase for gypsum. Several NAHB members have expressed concern about gypsum producers’ stated plans for significant price increases in… Read More ›
Gypsum production is heavily dependent on construction industries. Approximately 90% of gypsum is used in the manufacture of wallboard for residential and non-residential building applications. A further 5% is used as an additive in cement production. The steep decline in the residential and non-residential building sectors over the past five years has greatly affected gypsum demand. Consumption of gypsum fell… Read More ›