Re-issued Interim Producer Price Indexes for SIC 7372, Prepackaged Software

June 14, 2001

With the release of data for May 2001, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is issuing recalculated Producer Price Index (PPI) values for January, February, March, and April 2001 for SIC 7372, Prepackaged Software, and its component indexes. Under standard PPI policy, the first-issued indexes for February, March, and April 2001 would have remained as first-issued until final figures were made public with the release of PPI data for June, July, and August 2001, respectively.

In January 2001, the BLS introduced an augmented sample for SIC 7372 to address the industry's frequent new-product introductions. (See "Supplemental Sampling in the PPI Prepackaged Software Index—SIC 7372," from the January 1999 issue of PPI Detailed Report.) The first-issued indexes for January, February, March, and April 2001 did not, however, reflect the revised sample item weights consistent with the augmented sample. This inconsistency significantly distorted the first-issued index values. SIC 7372 interim indexes are being made available to provide data users with a set of indexes for the January to May 2001 period based on the revised industry sample with consistent item weights. Please note that the February, March, and April indexes are not yet final; normal PPI procedures that recalculate and finalize 4-month-ago values remain in effect.

For additional information, contact the PPI Section of Index Analysis and Public Information at (ppi-info@bls.gov) or at (202) 691-7705.

* January index values are final.

Last Modified Date: October 16, 2001