October 19, 2005 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

PPI in September 2005

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for Finished Goods rose 1.9 percent in September, seasonally adjusted. This advance followed increases of 0.6 percent in August and 1.0 percent in July.

[Chart data—TXT]

Among finished goods in September, prices for energy goods advanced 7.1 percent, compared with a 3.7-percent increase in August. The finished consumer foods index turned up 1.4 percent, following a 0.3-percent decline in the prior month. Prices for finished goods other than foods and energy rose 0.3 percent in September, following no change in August.

During the third quarter of 2005, prices for finished goods advanced at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 14.8 percent, after falling at a 0.5-percent SAAR during the second quarter of 2005. Excluding prices for foods and energy, the finished goods index increased at a 2.6-percent SAAR for the 3 months ended September 2005, after rising at a 1.0-percent SAAR for the 3 months ended June 2005.

From September 2004 to September 2005, prices for finished goods rose 6.9 percent, as shown in the chart. Over the same period, the index for finished energy goods increased 27.8 percent, prices for finished goods other than foods and energy went up 2.6 percent, and the finished consumer foods index climbed 2.1 percent.

These data are from the BLS Producer Price Index program. To learn more, see "Producer Price Indexes -- September 2005" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 05-1975. All producer price indexes are routinely subject to revision once, 4 months after original publication, to reflect the availability of late reports and corrections by respondents. Note: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita had virtually no impact on data collection efforts or survey response rates, and no changes in estimation procedures were necessary.