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The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer and Producer Price Indexes

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer and Producer Price Indexes. How they are constructed and how they are used in contract escalation. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer and Producer Price Indexes. How they are constructed and how they are used in contract escalation

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The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer and Producer Price Indexes

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  1. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer and Producer Price Indexes How they are constructed and how they are used in contract escalation Annual Meeting April 7 - 10, 2013 Orlando, Florida

  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer and Producer Price Indexes How they are constructed and how they are used in contract escalation Michael W. Horrigan, Ph.D. Associate Commissioner Office of Prices and Living Conditions Annual Meeting April 7 - 10, 2013 Orlando, Florida

  3. Outline • Overview of the BLS • Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) • Producer Price Index • Using Price Indexes to Escalate Contracts • CPI-U, CPI-W and Social Security, and the CPI-E • Chained CPI-U

  4. Overview of the BLS • The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects, analyzes, and publishes a vast array of data on our economy and our society. • We provide critical information on inflation, employment, unemployment, and productivity that are used by government policy makers, the media, workers, business leaders, consumers, and job seekers.

  5. BLS Programs Principal Federal Economic Indicators produced by the BLS: • Consumer Price Index • Employment Cost Index • The Employment Situation • Civilian Unemployment Rate • Nonagricultural Payroll Employment • Producer Price Indexes • Productivity and Costs • Real Earnings • U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes

  6. Overview of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) Program • Goal of the CPI • Scope / Coverage • Classification System • Weighting • Sampling • Data Collection • Estimation • Publication

  7. Goal and Scope of the CPI • The goal of the CPI is to approximate a cost of living index. • Cost of living is a theoretical concept. The CPI seeks to measure the change in the cost of living by measuring the change in prices that consumers pay for a market basket of goods and services. • The CPI reflects prices paid by consumers in urban areas of the U.S. for a market basket of goods and services. • Any item purchased for consumption, goods or services, is potentially eligible for pricing.

  8. Classification system • In the CPI, the consumer market basket is a categorization of goods and services with corresponding weights. In the U.S. there are 211 categories of items (goods and services) that are aggregated into eight major groups: • Food And Beverages • Housing • Apparel • Transportation • Medical Care • Recreation • Education and Communication • Other Goods and Services

  9. Weighting • The Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE)—source of weighting for CPI--consists of two separate surveys: • Quarterly interview survey—asks consumers about major purchases over 5 consecutive quarters • Diary survey—asks consumers to keep diary of frequently purchased items over two weeks • Used to create expenditure weights to construct the CPI market basket. • Weights are updated every two years. Current CPI weights are based on consumer expenditures in 2009-2010.

  10. Sampling / Geography • The CPI reflects prices paid by consumers in urban areas of the U.S. • Based on Census and OMB definitions, 87 geographic areas are selected to represent the urban population. • Referred to as Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) • Represent 38 distinct geographical units: 31 large cities plus a combination of the remaining 56 smaller areas into 7 geographical units

  11. Data collection / Outlets • The geographic sample and market basket form the component cells that are used to build the CPI. • Item categories x Geography Units = • 211 item categories x 38 geography units = 8018 cells • Indexes calculated for each cell • The Telephone Point-of-Purchase Survey (TPOPS) of households is used to create the frame of outlets (stores, medical offices, web sites) for the collection of data in each of the 87 PSUs.

  12. Data Collection / Outlets • BLS Field Representatives visit outlets and use Computer Assisted Data Collection (CADC) to select and price items using probability sampling. • Items are described completely in terms of price determining characteristics using the CPI Checklist. • Sample rotation allows the sample of specific items in the CPI to stay up-to-date. • Each outlet/item sample is replaced every four years, 1/8th of the sample every 6 months.

  13. Data Collection / Outlets • Based on the TPOPS survey, the commodity product or service line(s) (e.g., apples) to be priced in each outlet is known in advance of visiting the outlet. • During the initiation interview at an outlet, a process known as disaggregation is performed to determine the exact items to be priced within these product or service lines. • The exact items are chosen using statistical methods that give individual items a chance to be selected proportional to their sales for that particular product or service line at the selected outlet.

  14. Data Collection / Outlets • CPI price data are collected throughout the entire month. The month is divided into three pricing periods, with field representatives required to collect data during each period. • The price sought in the CPI is the retail, transaction price paid by the consumer, including sales and excise taxes. • Each month a field staff of about 350 part-time economic assistants and 100 full-time economists collects prices for over 83,000 individual items based on personal visits to more than 23,000 outlets in 87 cities.

  15. Data Collection / Housing • A survey of 32,000 housing rental units tracks the rate of inflation in housing services. • Provides data for measuring changes in shelter costs for consumers who rent (about 32 percent of all consumers). • Also provides data for measuring changes in shelter costs for consumers who own their own homes (about 68 percent of all consumers). • This latter index is estimated based on the concept of rental equivalence or the market rent that would be charged for these owner occupied dwellings if they were rented.

  16. Estimation • The CPI-U is constructed in two stages. • In Stage 1 indexes for each item/area cell are constructed from a sample of prices. • Types of steak in Chicago • In Stage 2 those indexes are aggregated across item/areas. • Steaks in Chicago, Hamburger in Chicago, Steaks in LA, etc. • The CPI uses either a geometric mean or a Laspeyres formula for calculating inflation in stage 1 and a Laspeyres formula for indexes in stage 2.

  17. Estimation Consumers assumed to substitute among types of steak when prices change No substitution is assumed between hamburger and steak

  18. Estimation • The geometric mean formula implicitly assumes a degree of substitution among the items used in calculating a price index. • The Laspeyres formula does not allow any such substitution and by construction is an upper bound to the change in the cost of maintaining a standard of living. • Substitution among different types of steak in stage 1 • Does not assume substitution of hamburger for steak in stage 2 • Note: The Laspeyres formula is used in Stage 1 for certain items such as surgery (consumers do not substitute among different kinds of surgery)

  19. Estimation/Publication • Quality adjustment • Direct comparison, Imputation, Hedonic regression • Seasonal Adjustment • Publication • CPI-U All Items U.S. City Average CPI for urban consumers • CPI breakdowns for food, energy, and all items less food and energy often receive attention. • CPI-W, CPI-E, and Chained CPI-U

  20. Publication • Tools for Dissemination of CPI Data • CPI news release available to public at 8:30 a.m. on release day • Press Release • Detailed Report: Electronically Available • Telephone 202 691 7000 • Available online @ (www.bls.gov/cpi) • Email requests: CPI-Info@bls.gov

  21. Outline • Overview of the BLS • Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) • Producer Price Index • Using Price Indexes to Escalate Contracts • CPI-U, CPI-W and Social Security, and the CPI-E • Chained CPI-U

  22. Goal of the PPI • The goal of the PPI is to measure the change in revenue received by a producer for the output produced using a fixed stock of labor, capital, and technology.

  23. What does the PPI measure? • PPI measures changes in net revenues received by producers of goods or services for a specific item. • Price-determining variables could include: • Kind of buyer • Product or service • Transaction terms • Time of purchase • Sales promotion techniques such as rebates or financing plans are reflected, as they affect the net proceeds of the producer. • Changes in excise taxes are not reflected.

  24. PPI Coverage • PPI data include the output of all industries in the goods-producing sectors of the U.S. economy such as mining, manufacturing, agriculture, and construction, as well as goods competitive with those made in the producing sectors, such as waste and scrap materials. • PPI is continually expanding coverage of service industries. The program covers a majority of the service sector's output, publishing data for selected industries in various industry sectors including: • professional, scientific, and technical services • administrative, support, and waste management services • health care and social assistance • accommodation • wholesale and retail trade • transportation and warehousing • information • finance and insurance • real estate brokering rental, and leasing

  25. PPI Coverage • Actual coverage of in-scope marketed output of the U.S. economy by PPI:

  26. PPI publication structures • Three main PPI publication structures: • Industry-based (NAICS) • Over 600 industry price indexes and over 4,900 specific product line and product category sub-indexes • Commodity-based (PPI) • Over 4,700 commodity price indexes organized by type of product and end use • Stage-of-processing based • Aggregate price indexes organized by commodity-based processing stage—Crude Materials for Further Processing; Intermediate Materials, Supplies, and Components; and Finished Goods

  27. PPI data revision • Producer Price Indexes are subject to change after being published: • After an index is first published, it is subject to recalculation to take into account late survey reports and corrections by respondents. • Every index is recalculated on a systematic basis—four index months after being first published. Previously published seasonally adjusted indexes are also subject to change in January when new seasonal factors are calculated and applied to the most recent five years of data.

  28. Publication • Over 1,000 indexes for specific outputs of industries in the services sector and other sectors that do not produce physical products; • Several major aggregate measures of price change organized by commodity-based, industry-based and stage of processing.

  29. Publication • Tools for Dissemination of PPI Data • PPI news release available to public at 8:30 a.m. on release day • Press Release • Detailed Report: Electronically Available • Telephone (202) 691-7705 • Available online @ (www.bls.gov/ppi)

  30. Using the Producer Price and Consumer Price Indexes for Contract Escalation • The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures the average change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers of goods and services www.bls.gov/ppi/ • The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a defined market basket of consumer goods and services www.bls.gov/cpi/

  31. PPI for escalation • Hundreds of billions of dollars in contract values are tied to Producer Price Indexes (PPI) through price escalation clauses, which are common in both government and private sector contracts. • These price escalation clauses are used to protect both the buyer and the seller from unanticipated surges or drops in prices.

  32. PPI for escalation • Private firms use PPI data to compare changes in material costs they incur against changes in the PPI for the material in question. Private firms also compare changes in the prices they charge with changes in the PPI

  33. PPI for escalation • Generally, an index should be chosen that represents the costs for providing a particular product or service, rather than indexes for the products or services themselves. • For example, if an apparel manufacturer is contracting for long-term purchases with a producer of finished fabrics, it would be more advisable to tie the escalation clause to a PPI for synthetic fibers rather than to a PPI for a type of finished fabric.

  34. PPI for escalation • While detailed indexes may target costs more specifically, such indexes are more likely to be discontinued by BLS, or to have occasional gaps in availability. • Contracts should provide for these contingencies, and may minimize them if they cite only the higher-level categories. • In addition, because of the unavailability of certain indexes, proxies must sometimes be chosen to estimate price movements for some series.

  35. PPI guidelines for escalation General guidelines (similar to those for CPI escalation): • ESTABLISH the base selling price subject to escalation. • SELECT an appropriate index or indexes. • IDENTIFY clearly the selected index and cite appropriate source. • SPECIFY that the selected index will not be seasonally adjusted.

  36. PPI guidelines for escalation General guidelines (continued): • STATE the frequency of price adjustment. • PROVIDE for missing or discontinued data. • SPECIFY that calculations of price adjustments shall always use the latest version of the PPI data published. • AVOID locking indexes used for escalation into any particular reference base periods. • DEFINE the mechanics of price adjustment.

  37. Calculating a contract escalation using the PPI • Escalation agreements using the PPI usually involve changing the contract’s base payment by the percent change in the level of the PPI between the reference period and a subsequent time period. • Again, this is calculated by first determining the index point change between the two periods and then the percent change. • Let’s look at the percent change from January 2011 to 2012…

  38. Escalation example: Calculating a percent change Computation of percent change: PPI for Jan 2012 125.2 Less PPI for Jan 2011 121.7 Equals index point change 3.5 Divided by previous period PPI 3.5 / 121.7 Equals 0.029 Results multiplied by 100 0.029 X 100 Equals percent change 2.9 * PPI for machinery manufacturing for January 2011 and 2012In this example, first-published (preliminary) indexes are used

  39. Percent change formula PPI for current − PPI for previous period period X 100 PPI for previous period

  40. Escalation example: Applying a percent change If a 1-year contract has a base price of $15,000 and begins December 2010: Base price 15,000 Dec. 2011 percent change divided by 100 2.9 / 100 Equals 0.029 Multiply base price by percent change 15,000 X .029 Equals 435 Results plus base price 15,000 + 435 Equals adjusted price 15,435 * PPI percent change for machinery manufacturing for December 2011In this example, first-published (preliminary) indexes are used

  41. New PPI series retrieval tool • Go to PPI home page • www.bls.gov/ppi • Look for ‘Guide to Retrieving PPI data’ • Find the series code you want • Click on ‘PPI Industry Data’ tab or ‘PPI Commodity Data’ tab • Click on ‘text’ or ‘excel’ to get the list of available indexes • Find your index (there are thousands!) • Gulp / write it down! • Under ‘Get PPI Data’ click on: • ‘Click here for Series Report (opens in a new window)’ • Enter your series ID • Choose your options and get your data!

  42. Using the CPI for Contract Escalation • Advice is similar to that of using PPI for contract escalation • Use Not seasonally adjusted data • Generally CPI-U for all items is used • CPI-U for published item strata do not go in and out of publication

  43. Outline • Overview of the BLS • Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) • Producer Price Index • Using Price Indexes to Escalate Contracts • CPI-U, CPI-W and Social Security, and the CPI-E • Chained CPI-U

  44. The CPI-U, CPI-W, and CPI-E • The CPI-U, CPI-W, and the CPI-E, which are defined precisely in the next few slides, all use the same price index formulas. • Substitution allowed in stage 1 • No substitution allowed in stage 2 • The CPI-U, CPI-W, and the CPI-E differ in terms of consumer expenditure weights and the target population groups associated with these weights. • U – all urban consumers • W – urban consumers in wage and clerical households • E – urban consumers in elderly households

  45. CPI-U and the CPI-W • The CPI for all urban consumers, CPI-U, represents the spending habits of about 88 percent of the population of the U.S. • The CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, CPI-W, represents the spending habits of about 28 percent of the population of the U.S. • More than 50 percent of total income must come from earnings in wage or clerical occupations.

  46. Social Security • Social Security benefits are revised annually based on changes in the CPI-W. • In 2013, about 58 million Americans received about $821 billion in Social Security payments. • Why does the Social Security Administration use the CPI-W to adjust Social Security payments? • At the time when Social Security payments were first indexed using the CPI in 1975, the CPI-U did not exist as an index.

  47. Social Security • When the CPI-U was introduced in 1978, it replaced the then current CPI with one based on a representation of all Urban Consumers instead of Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. • The CPI-W is essentially the index that is a continuation of the CPI prior to 1978, and given its use since 1975, the decision was made by the Social Security Administration to continue the use of the CPI-W as the basis for adjusting Social Security benefits.

  48. Social Security Cost of Living Adjustments, 2008-2012

  49. CPI-E • The experimental CPI for the Elderly, CPI-E, representing Americans ages 62 and older, was developed in 1987 at the request of Congress. The series was reconstructed back to December 1982. • For the experimental CPI-E, we calculate weights for a subset of households where the reference person or their spouse is age 62 or older. • Coverage is about 16 percent of the population.

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