FOR DATA ONLY:  (202) 606-7828     USDL 97-159
FOR TECHNICAL INFORMATION:         TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL IN
(202) 606-7705                     THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED
MEDIA CONTACT:  (202) 606-5902     UNTIL 8:30 A.M. (E.D.T), FRIDAY,
http://stats.bls.gov/ppihome.htm   MAY 14, 1997
                                     
                    Producer Price Indexes - April 1997
     
     The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods declined 0.6 percent in
April, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U. S.
Department of Labor reported today.  This followed decreases of 0.1 percent
in March and 0.4 percent in February.  Prices received by domestic
producers of intermediate goods fell 0.3 percent in April after declining
0.6 percent in the previous month.  The Crude Goods Price Index dropped 0.9
percent in April following a 6.9-percent decrease in March.  (See table A.)

     Among finished goods in April, prices for finished goods other than
foods and energy declined 0.1 percent following a 0.4-percent advance in
the previous month.  The index for finished consumer foods also fell after
increasing in March.  Prices for energy goods decreased in April, but by
less than a month ago.
     
Table A.  Monthly and annual percent changes in selected stage-of-
processing price
indexes, seasonally adjusted
                     Finish                                  
                         ed
                      goods
                                                             
                                     Change in            
                            Except   finished   Inter-    
                                       goods
                             foods    from 12   mediateCrude
                              and     months
Month  Total  Foods  Energy energy      ago      goods goods
                                     (unadj.)
 1996                                                     
 Apr.     0.2   -0.3    2.1     0.0         2.4    0.3    4.0
 May      0.2    0.2   -0.6     0.2         2.3    0.4    1.1
 June     0.3    1.4   -0.8     0.1         2.7   -0.3   -2.4
 July       0    0.1    0.4       0         2.6   -0.2    2.2
 Aug.     0.3    0.7    0.6     0.1         3.0    0.2    0.6
Sept.     0.3    0.4    0.7     0.1         3.0    0.4   -2.6
 Oct.     0.4    0.8    1.7    -0.1         3.1   -0.2   -0.7
 Nov.     0.2      0    0.9       0         3.0   -0.2    2.7
 Dec.     0.5   -0.2   r3.3     0.1         2.8   r0.5   r6.2
                                                             
 1997                                                        
 Jan.    -0.3   -1.0     r0   r-0.1         2.5    0.2   r2.9
 Feb.    -0.4   -0.3   -1.2    -0.1         2.2   -0.1   -5.9
 Mar.    -0.1    0.9   -3.4     0.4         1.6   -0.6   -6.9
 Apr.    -0.6   -0.4   -2.6    -0.1         0.8   -0.3   -0.9
r=revised.  Some of the figures shown above and elsewhere in this release
may differ from those previously reported because data for December 1996 
have been revised to reflect the availability of late reports and
corrections by respondents.
                                    -2-

     Before seasonal adjustment, the Producer Price Index for Finished
Goods dropped 0.5 percent in April.  The index stood at 131.6 (1982=100).
From April 1996 to April 1997, the Finished Goods Price Index rose 0.8
percent.  Over the same period, prices for finished consumer foods
increased 2.4 percent, the index for finished energy goods declined 1.3
percent, and prices for finished goods other than foods and energy rose 0.6
percent.  Prices received by domestic producers of intermediate goods
decreased 0.1 percent for the 12 months ended in April, and the index for
crude goods fell 4.8 percent during this same period.

Finished Goods

     The Producer Price Index for finished consumer foods declined 0.4
percent in April, seasonally adjusted, following a 0.9-percent advance in
March.  Prices for fresh and dry vegetables decreased 20.4 percent after
increasing 13.3 percent during the prior month.  The indexes for beef and
veal, dairy products, and for finfish and shellfish also fell after rising
in March.  Prices for roasted coffee rose less than a month ago.  By
contrast, prices for pork advanced 5.6 percent following a 3.6-percent
decline in March.  The index for processed fruits and vegetables decreased
less than in the prior month.  Prices for confectionery end products and
processed turkeys rose more than a month ago.

Table B.  Monthly and annual percent changes in selected price indexes for
intermediate
goods and crude goods, seasonally adjusted
              Interm                           Crude           
              ediate                           goods
              goods
                            Change in                        Change in
                            intermedi                          crude
                               ate
                     Exclud   goods                  Excludi   goods
                      ing      from                    ng
                     foods  12 months         Energy  foods   from 12
                      and      ago                     and   months ago
Month  Foods  Energy energy  (unadj.)   Foods (unadj energy   (unadj.)
                                                .)
 1996                                                             
 Apr.     1.9    3.4   -0.1        0.6    3.5    8.3   -1.3     10.4
 May      3.8    0.6    0.1        0.7    5.8   -4.6    0.7     12.7
 June     0.7   -2.4      0        0.3    0.7   -6.8   -1.8     9.6
 July     0.4      0   -0.3       -0.1    1.7    5.4   -1.6     13.2
 Aug.     0.3    0.8    0.1        0.1   -0.6    2.4    0.5     15.4
Sept.     0.8    1.1    0.2        0.6   -3.5   -3.3    0.5     10.1
 Oct.    -2.0    1.3   -0.2        0.5   -3.1    2.1   -0.1     9.4
 Nov.    -3.2   -0.2    0.1        0.5   -2.5   11.1   -0.2     10.6
 Dec.   r-0.6   r2.9    0.1       r0.7  r-2.7  r19.3     r0    r14.7
                                                                  
 1997                                                             
 Jan.    r0.8   r0.7    0.1        1.0   -1.0   r6.9    2.0     15.1
 Feb.    -0.8   -0.6      0        1.2   -1.9  -12.4    1.0     6.3
 Mar.     1.4   -4.6      0        0.6    2.1  -19.2    0.6     0.3
 Apr.     0.4   -2.0      0       -0.1    3.3   -5.2   -2.3     -4.8
r=revised.  Some of the figures shown above and elsewhere in this release
may differ from those previously reported because data for December 1996 
have been revised to reflect the availability of late reports and 
corrections by respondents.

                                    -3-

     The index for capital equipment declined 0.4 percent in April
following a 0.3-percent advance in March.  Prices for civilian aircraft
decreased 2.0 percent after increasing 2.1 percent during the prior month.
Prices for tools, dies, jigs, fixtures, and industrial molds also turned
down after advancing one month earlier.  The index for light motor trucks
fell after showing no change in March.  Prices for electronic computers
fell more than a month ago.  The index for office and store machines and
equipment rose less than in the previous month.  By contrast, prices for
communication and related equipment advanced 0.1 percent in April following
a 0.4-percent decline in March.  The indexes for commercial furniture and
for x-ray and electromedical equipment also turned up after decreasing last
month.  Prices for heavy motor trucks fell less than a month ago.

     The index for finished consumer goods excluding foods and energy
showed no change in April following a 0.3-percent advance in March.  Prices
for passenger cars decreased 0.5 percent after increasing 0.2 percent in
the prior month.  The indexes for prescription drugs and women's apparel
also turned down after rising a month ago.  Prices for tobacco products and
alcoholic beverages increased less than in the previous month.  By
contrast, prices for periodical circulation advanced 2.0 percent in April
following a 0.5-percent gain in March.  Prices for over-the-counter drugs
and mobile homes also rose more than a month ago.  The index for soap and
synthetic detergents increased after showing no change in the prior month.
     
     The index for finished energy goods declined 2.6 percent in April
following a 3.4-percent decline in March.  Prices for home heating oil
increased 1.4 percent after decreasing 9.9 percent in the previous month.
The index for residential natural gas fell less than a month ago.  By
contrast, prices for finished lubricants declined 3.7 percent in April
following a 3.8-percent advance in March.  The index for gasoline fell more
than in the prior month.  Prices for residential electric power fell the
same amount as in March.

Intermediate goods

     The Producer Price Index for Intermediate Materials, Supplies, and
Components declined 0.3 percent in April, seasonally adjusted, after
decreasing 0.6 percent a month earlier.  Prices for both intermediate
energy goods and nondurable manufacturing materials fell less than in
March.  By contrast, the index for durable manufacturing materials turned
down after rising a month ago.  Prices for intermediate foods and feeds
increased less than in the prior month.  The index for construction
materials rose at the same rate as in March.  Excluding food and energy,
the intermediate materials index was unchanged for the third consecutive
month.  (See table B.)

     The index for intermediate energy goods fell 2.0 percent after
dropping 4.6 percent a month ago.  Prices for liquefied petroleum gas
declined 5.3 percent after falling 20.7 percent in March.  The indexes for
diesel fuel, residual fuel, and natural gas to electric utilities also fell
less than the prior month.  Conversely, prices for industrial electric
power turned down 0.1 percent after increasing 0.1 percent a month ago.
The index for coke also fell after rising.  Prices for gasoline and liquid
asphalt decreased more than in March.

     The index for nondurable manufacturing materials declined 0.2 percent
following a 0.5 percent decrease in March.  Prices for paper turned up 1.2
percent after falling 0.1 percent a month earlier.  The indexes for
nitrogenates and synthetic fibers also rose after declining.  Prices for
medicinal and botanical chemicals increased in April after showing no
change in March.  By contrast, the index for miscellaneous inorganic
chemicals turned down 0.7 percent following an increase of 1.0 percent in
the prior month.  The index for miscellaneous basic organics fell after
showing no change a month ago.  Prices for woodpulp fell more than the
previous month.  The index for plastic resins and materials rose less.

                                    -4-

     The index for durable manufacturing materials turned down 0.1 percent
after advancing 0.7 percent a month ago.  Prices for primary nonferrous
metals dropped 1.7 percent after rising 3.9 percent in the previous month.
The indexes for copper and brass mill shapes, plywood, and building paper
also fell after increasing in March.  Prices for hot rolled sheet and strip
fell after showing no change a month ago.  The index for aluminum mill
shapes rose less than in the prior month.  Conversely, prices for hot
rolled bars, plates, and structural shapes turned up 0.6 percent after
declining 0.2 percent in the prior month.  The indexes for cold rolled
sheets and strip, cold finished bars, and cement also rose after decreasing
last month.  Prices for semi-finished steel mill products rose faster than
in March.

     The index for intermediate foods and feeds gained 0.4 percent
following a 1.4-percent increase in March.  Prices for prepared animal
feeds rose 1.0 percent after increasing 3.6 percent in the prior month.
The indexes for beef and veal, crude vegetable oils, and confectionery
materials turned down after rising a month ago.  By contrast, prices for
pork turned up 5.6 percent after falling 3.6 percent in March.  The indexes
for flour, fluid milk products, and canned meats also rose after declining
in the previous month.

     The index for construction materials rose 0.3 percent for the second
consecutive month.  Price increases for softwood lumber, fabricated
structural metal products, plastic construction products, and millwork
outweighed decreases for other metal products and plywood.

Crude Goods

     The Producer Price Index for Crude Materials for Further Processing
declined 0.9 percent, seasonally adjusted, following a 6.9-percent decline
in March.  The index for energy materials decreased less than the prior
month.  The index for foodstuffs and feedstuffs increased more than a month
ago.  By contrast, the index for basic industrial materials decreased after
increasing a month earlier.  (See table B.)

     The index for crude energy materials fell 5.2 percent following a 19.2-
percent decline in March.  Prices for natural gas dropped 13.3 percent
after falling 29.2 percent in the prior month.  The index for crude
petroleum also decreased less than a month ago.  By contrast, prices for
coal rose 5.2 percent after increasing 3.2 percent last month.
     
     The index for crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs advanced 3.3 percent
following a 2.1-percent increase in March.  Prices for slaughter hogs
gained 19.2 percent after falling 10.2 percent a month ago.  The index for
slaughter broilers and fryers also rose after decreasing in the prior
month.  Prices for wheat rose more than in the previous month.  The index
for alfalfa hay increased after showing no change in March.  By contrast,
prices for corn turned down 3.9 percent after rising 9.9 percent in the
prior month.  The indexes for soybeans, fluid milk, and for fresh and dry
vegetables also fell after increasing in March.
     
     The index for crude nonfood materials less energy declined 2.3 percent
following a 0.6-percent advance in March.  Prices for nonferrous metal ores
turned down 5.1 percent after rising 4.6 percent a month ago.  The indexes
for copper ores, wastepaper, and raw cotton also fell after increasing in
the prior month.  Prices for iron and steel scrap fell more than in March.
The index for phosphates showed no change after rising in the previous
month.  By contrast, prices for other roundwood products increased in April
after showing no change in March.
     
                                    -5-

Net output price indexes for mining, manufacturing, and other industries

Mining.  The Producer Price Index for the net output of total domestic
mining industries fell 4.7 percent in April following a 15.9-percent
decline in March.  (Net output price indexes are not seasonally adjusted.)
In April, price decreases for the oil and gas extraction industry group
slowed to 6.6 percent from 20.9 percent in the previous month.  The index
for the metal mining industry group turned down 3.8 percent after rising
3.6 percent in March.  Prices for the industry group for coal mining
services also rose after falling in the prior month.  By contrast, price
increases for the bituminous coal and lignite mining industry group rose
3.3 percent after gaining 2.1 percent in March.  In April, the producer
price index for total mining industries stood at 79.4 (December 1984=100),
7.7 percent lower than a year ago.

Manufacturing.  The Producer Price Index for total domestic manufacturing
industries decreased 0.1 percent for the second consecutive month.  Price
declines for the industry groups for petroleum refining, paper and allied
products, and transportation equipment outweighed increases for the
industry groups for tobacco products, lumber and wood products, and
nonmetallic mineral products.  In April, the index for the net output of
the domestic manufacturing sector was 127.7 (December 1984=100), 0.7 above
its year-earlier level.

Other.  Among other industries in April, the index for recovered paper
collection fell 7.6 percent, following an increase of 8.3 percent in March.
Prices for farm product warehousing and storage, deep sea foreign
transportation of freight, freight transportation along the Great Lakes,
travel agencies, cable and other pay television services, nonferrous metal
scrap collection, hotels and motels, employment agencies, passenger car
rental, and home health care services also turned down after rising a month
earlier.  Price for railroad line-haul operations, refrigerated warehousing
and storage, waste materials collection (other than metal and paper), and
architectural services rose less than in the previous month.  Prices for
water transportation of freight (not elsewhere classified), scheduled air
cargo transportation, ferrous metal scrap collection, and for accounting,
auditing, and bookkeeping services fell more than in March.  The indexes
for local trucking with storage, advertising agencies, skilled and
intermediate care facilities, and medical laboratories were unchanged after
rising in the previous month.  The index for electric power utilities
declined after showing no change in March.

     By contrast, prices for non-local trucking, scheduled air passenger
transportation, nonscheduled air transportation, freight transportation
arrangement, offices and clinics of doctors of medicine, and psychiatric
hospitals turned up after declining in March.  Prices for local trucking
without storage, general warehousing and storage, tugging and towing
services, radio broadcasting, and operators of nonresidential buildings
rose more than in the prior month.  The indexes for deep sea domestic
transportation of freight and for natural gas utilities fell less than a
month ago.  The indexes for courier services (except by air) and telephone
communication (except radiotelephone) were unchanged after declining in
March.

                                   *****
              Producer Price Index data for May 1997 will be
            released on Friday, June 13, at 8:30 a.m. (E.D.T.)
                                   *****
Information in this news release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-606-7828; TDD phone: 202-606-
5897; TDD Message Referral phone: 1-800-326-2577.

                                    -6-

              New table added to the monthly PPI news release


     Effective this month with the release of Producer Price Index data for
April 1997, a new table has been added to the monthly news release.  Table
5 presents seasonally adjusted indexes for the most recent six months for
all of the stage-of-processing (SOP) series.  This new table supplements
table 1, which presents unadjusted indexes and selected percent changes,
both unadjusted and seasonally adjusted, for all of the SOP series.

 Table 1.  Producer Price Indexes and percent changes by stage of processing
 (1982=100)
 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                  |          |                       |Unadjusted     |
                                                  |          |                       |percent        |Seasonally adjusted
                                                  | Relative |    Unadjusted index   |change to      |percent change from:
                     Grouping                     |importance|                       |Apr. 1997 from:|
                                                  |          |_______________________|_______________|_______________________________
                                                  |   Dec.   |       |       |       |       |       |       |         |
                                                  |           Dec.   |Mar.   |Apr.   |  Apr. | Mar.  |Jan. to|Feb.  to |Mar.  to
                                                  |   1996 1/|1996 2/|1997 2/|1997 2/|  1996 | 1997  |  Feb. |   Mar.  |  Apr.
 _________________________________________________|__________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_________|____________
                                                  |
 Finished goods...................................|  100.000   132.7   132.2   131.6     0.8   -0.5     -0.4     -0.1    -0.6
   Finished consumer goods........................|   76.405   131.2   130.4   129.9      .9    -.4      -.5      -.2     -.7
     Finished consumer foods......................|   23.635   135.5   135.3   134.3     2.4    -.7      -.3       .9     -.4
       Crude......................................|    1.628   134.8   139.1   120.5    -8.5  -13.4      2.4      4.9   -13.2
       Processed..................................|   22.007   135.5   135.0   135.3     3.2     .2      -.5       .6      .5
     Finished consumer goods, excluding foods.....|   52.770   129.2   128.2   127.8      .3    -.3      -.5      -.7     -.7
       Nondurable goods less foods................|   36.380   125.2   123.7   123.4      .2    -.2      -.6     -1.2    -1.0
       Durable goods..............................|   16.390   135.0   135.0   134.5      .4    -.4      0         .1     -.1
   Capital equipment..............................|   23.595   138.7   139.2   138.5      .1    -.5      -.1       .3     -.4
     Manufacturing industries.....................|    6.031   137.4   137.9   137.8      .5    -.1      0         .1     -.1
     Nonmanufacturing industries..................|   17.564   139.0   139.5   138.7     0      -.6      -.1       .4     -.5
                                                  |
 Intermediate materials, supplies, and components.|  100.000   126.0   125.6   125.3     -.1    -.2      -.1      -.6     -.3
   Materials and components for manufacturing.....|   49.074   128.2   128.5   128.4      .1    -.1      -.1      -.1     -.1
     Materials for food manufacturing.............|    3.392   123.8   124.2   123.8     1.8    -.3     -1.3      0       -.1
     Materials for nondurable manufacturing.......|   15.604   129.8   129.5   129.2    -1.0    -.2      -.2      -.5     -.2
     Materials for durable manufacturing..........|   10.977   131.4   133.5   133.4     1.7    -.1       .4       .7     -.1
     Components for manufacturing.................|   19.101   126.7   126.6   126.6     -.2    0        -.1      -.1      .1
   Materials and components for construction......|   12.682   144.7   146.3   146.7     2.9     .3       .4       .3      .3
   Processed fuels and lubricants.................|   13.627    92.7    88.3    87.1    -2.5   -1.4      -.6     -4.6    -1.9
     Manufacturing industries ....................|    5.387    94.9    90.6    89.6    -2.4   -1.1     -1.2     -4.7    -1.7
     Nonmanufacturing industries..................|    8.240    91.2    86.8    85.5    -2.6   -1.5      -.4     -4.4    -2.1
   Containers.....................................|    3.536   137.9   136.6   134.8    -5.7   -1.3      -.4      -.5    -1.5
   Supplies.......................................|   21.081   135.5   136.0   136.1      .3     .1      -.1       .4      .1
     Manufacturing industries.....................|    7.539   138.8   139.1   139.0      .5    -.1      0        0       0
     Nonmanufacturing industries..................|   13.542   133.8   134.4   134.6      .2     .1      -.2       .5      .2
       Feeds......................................|    1.610   128.5   133.0   134.6     1.7    1.2       .1      4.2     1.4
       Other supplies.............................|   11.932   134.5   134.6   134.6     0      0        -.2       .1     0
                                                  |
 Crude materials for further processing...........|  100.000   121.6   110.3   108.9    -4.8   -1.3     -5.9     -6.9     -.9
   Foodstuffs and feedstuffs......................|   38.897   113.6   114.0   116.8    -2.3    2.5     -1.9      2.1     3.3
   Nonfood materials..............................|   61.103   122.5   103.9    99.7    -6.6   -4.0     -8.3    -12.5    -4.1
     Nonfood materials except fuel 3/.............|   37.004   109.0   104.0   103.7    -4.2    -.3     -4.6     -3.7     -.4
       Manufacturing 3/...........................|   33.419   100.8    95.4    95.1    -5.3    -.3     -5.2     -4.0     -.5
       Construction...............................|    3.585   198.5   201.8   201.7     5.3    0         .3       .1     -.1
     Crude fuel 4/................................|   24.099   134.1    93.9    83.6   -11.0  -11.0    -13.1    -25.4   -11.0
       Manufacturing industries...................|    4.923   127.6    91.9    82.7    -9.9  -10.0    -12.3    -23.7   -10.0
       Nonmanufacturing industries................|   19.176   137.5    95.6    84.9   -11.2  -11.2    -13.3    -25.9   -11.2
                                                  |
                Special groupings                 |
                                                  |
 Finished goods, excluding foods..................|5/ 76.365   131.7   131.2   130.7      .2    -.4      -.4      -.4     -.7
 Intermediate materials less foods and feeds......|6/ 94.998   126.1   125.5   125.2     -.2    -.2      -.1      -.6     -.3
 Intermediate foods and feeds.....................|6/  5.002   125.6   127.3   127.5     1.8     .2      -.8      1.4      .4
 Crude materials less agricultural products 3/ 7/.|8/ 58.958   122.5   103.2    99.1    -6.5   -4.0     -8.6    -12.8    -4.0
                                                  |
 Finished energy goods............................|5/ 14.743    85.7    82.9    82.2    -1.3    -.8     -1.2     -3.4    -2.6
 Finished goods less energy.......................|5/ 85.257   140.6   140.8   140.3     1.1    -.4      -.2       .5     -.2
 Finished consumer goods less energy..............|5/ 61.662   141.4   141.4   141.0     1.5    -.3      -.2       .6     -.2
                                                  |
 Finished goods less foods and energy.............|5/ 61.622   142.6   143.0   142.6      .6    -.3      -.1       .4     -.1
 Finished consumer goods less foods and energy....|5/ 38.027   145.1   145.3   145.2     1.0    -.1      -.1       .3     0
 Consumer nondurable goods less foods and energy..|5/ 21.637   152.2   152.7   152.9     1.4     .1      -.3       .5      .1
                                                  |
 Intermediate energy goods........................|6/ 13.751    92.4    88.1    86.9    -2.5   -1.4      -.6     -4.6    -2.0
 Intermediate materials less energy...............|6/ 86.249   133.4   133.8   133.8      .4    0        0         .1     0
 Intermediate materials less foods and energy.....|6/ 81.247   133.9   134.2   134.2      .2    0        0        0       0
                                                  |
 Crude energy materials 3/........................|8/ 41.094   109.6    83.0    78.7    -9.9   -5.2    -12.4    -19.2    -5.2
 Crude materials less energy......................|8/ 58.905   123.4   125.5   126.6    -1.9     .9      -.9      1.6     1.3
 Crude nonfood materials less energy 4/...........|8/ 20.009   152.5   159.3   156.0    -1.0   -2.1      1.0       .6    -2.3
                                                  |
 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
   1/  Comprehensive relative importance figures are initially computed          3/  Includes crude petroleum.
       after the publication of December indexes and are recalculated            4/  Excludes crude petroleum.
       after final December indexes are available.  The first-published          5/  Percent of total finished goods.
       and final December relative importances initially appear,                 6/  Percent of total intermediate materials.
       respectively, in the release tables containing January and May data.      7/  Formerly titled "Crude materials for
   2/  The indexes for Dec. 1996 have been recalculated to incorporate               further processing, excluding crude
       late reports and corrections by respondents.  All indexes                     foodstuffs and feedstuffs, plant and
       are subject to revision four months after original publication.               animal fibers, oilseeds, and leaf tobacco."
                                                                                 8/  Percent of total crude materials.
 Table 2.  Producer Price Indexes and percent changes for selected commodity groupings by stage of processing
 (1982=100 unless otherwise indicated)
 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
            |                                                       |                       |Unadjusted     |
            |                                                       |                       |percent        |Seasonally adjusted
            |                                                       |   Unadjusted index    |change to      |percent change from:
  Commodity |                                                       |                       |Apr. 1997 from:|
    code    |                      Grouping                         |_______________________|_______________|________________________
            |                                                       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |
            |                                                       |Dec.   |Mar.   |Apr.   | Apr.  | Mar.  |Jan. to|Feb. to|Mar. to
            |                                                       |1996 1/|1997 1/|1997 1/| 1996  | 1997  |  Feb. |  Mar. |  Apr.
 ___________|_______________________________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|________
            |                                                       |
            |FINISHED GOODS.........................................| 132.7   132.2   131.6     0.8   -0.5     -0.4    -0.1    -0.6
            | FINISHED CONSUMER GOODS...............................| 131.2   130.4   129.9      .9    -.4      -.5     -.2     -.7
            |  FINISHED CONSUMER FOODS..............................| 135.5   135.3   134.3     2.4    -.7      -.3      .9     -.4
            |                                                       |
 01-11      |   Fresh fruits and melons 2/..........................| 118.7   105.3   100.1    21.8   -4.9      0      -3.4    -4.9
 01-13      |   Fresh and dry vegetables 2/.........................| 104.3   139.7   111.2   -33.8  -20.4     13.4    13.3   -20.4
 01-71-07   |   Eggs for fresh use (Dec. 1991=100) 2/...............| 129.9    98.8    87.6   -18.5  -11.3      1.5    -6.6   -11.3
 02-11      |   Bakery products 2/..................................| 173.0   173.0   172.9     3.2    -.1       .1     -.1     -.1
 02-13      |   Milled rice 2/......................................| 126.9   127.3   128.5     1.9     .9      1.5    -1.2      .9
 02-14-02   |   Pasta products (June 1985=100) 2/...................| 126.9   128.5   126.4     -.6   -1.6       .2     0      -1.6
 02-21-01   |   Beef and veal.......................................| 107.3   106.6   103.2     9.6   -3.2     -4.3     6.8     -.2
 02-21-04   |   Pork................................................| 127.6   118.5   123.8     9.9    4.5     -4.4    -3.6     5.6
 02-22-03   |   Processed young chickens............................| 125.6   119.3   117.8     5.6   -1.3     -1.3      .6    -1.0
 02-22-06   |   Processed turkeys 2/................................| 102.5    99.9   101.6    -5.3    1.7      1.2     1.1     1.7
 02-23      |   Finfish and shellfish...............................| 173.6   186.6   174.5     5.1   -6.5     -6.2     7.9    -5.0
 02-3       |   Dairy products......................................| 128.0   128.3   127.9     3.8    -.3       .5      .1    -1.0
 02-4       |   Processed fruits and vegetables 2/..................| 128.1   127.3   127.2     -.1    -.1      -.2     -.3     -.1
 02-55      |   Confectionery end products 2/.......................| 167.4   168.1   168.6     1.4     .3       .2      .1      .3
 02-62      |   Soft drinks.........................................| 133.7   134.8   135.1      .7     .2     -1.0      .8      .5
 02-63-01   |   Roasted coffee 2/...................................| 128.0   144.7   151.6    15.5    4.8       .2    12.9     4.8
 02-76      |   Shortening and cooking oils 2/......................| 135.9   136.5   135.3    -1.9    -.9      0       -.2     -.9
            |                                                       |
            |  FINISHED CONSUMER GOODS EXCLUDING FOODS..............| 129.2   128.2   127.8      .3    -.3      -.5     -.7     -.7
            |                                                       |
 02-61      |   Alcoholic beverages.................................| 135.2   135.4   135.9     2.5     .4      -.9      .8      .1
 03-81-01   |   Women's apparel 2/..................................| 120.1   120.2   119.6      .6    -.5       .2      .1     -.5
 03-81-02   |   Men's and boys' apparel.............................| 132.3   132.6   132.5      .2    -.1      -.2      .2     -.1
 03-81-03   |   Girls', children's, and infants' apparel 2/.........| 123.9   124.4   124.4     2.1    0         .1     0       0
 03-82      |   Textile housefurnishings 2/.........................| 123.9   122.2   122.2     1.0    0        -.6     -.3     0
 04-3       |   Footwear............................................| 142.3   143.8   143.5     1.6    -.2       .3     0       -.1
 05-41      |   Residential electric power (Dec. 1990=100)..........| 110.5   110.5   110.2      .1    -.3       .1     -.1     -.1
 05-51      |   Residential gas (Dec. 1990=100).....................| 117.3   115.9   111.8     1.8   -3.5       .2    -4.8    -3.3
 05-71      |   Gasoline............................................|  76.0    73.2    73.3    -4.1     .1     -3.1    -4.0    -4.1
 05-73-02-01|   Fuel oil No. 2......................................|  77.5    64.0    64.9   -14.2    1.4     -1.1    -9.9     1.4
 06-35      |   Pharmaceutical preps, ethical (Prescription)........| 267.9   273.7   273.2     3.7    -.2      -.1     1.2     -.7
 06-36      |   Pharmaceutical preps,proprietary (Over-counter).....| 184.5   185.7   187.6      .2    1.0       .1      .1     1.0
 06-71      |   Soaps and synthetic detergents 2/...................| 125.5   125.4   126.6     1.0    1.0      0       0       1.0
 06-75      |   Cosmetics and other toilet preparations 2/..........| 130.2   130.6   130.6      .8    0         .3      .2     0
 07-12      |   Tires, tubes, tread, etc 2/.........................|  97.2    95.9    96.4     -.5     .5     -1.1     -.1      .5
 09-15-01   |   Sanitary papers and health products 2/..............| 149.5   145.4   144.7    -4.4    -.5      -.7     -.5     -.5
 09-31-01   |   Newspaper circulation...............................| 201.7   201.7   202.2     2.7     .2      0        .3      .4
 09-32-01   |   Periodical circulation..............................| 182.2   184.0   187.2     4.4    1.7      -.4      .5     2.0
 09-33      |   Book publishing 2/..................................| 197.2   200.1   200.2     3.5    0        -.3     1.4     0
 12-1       |   Household furniture 2/..............................| 145.2   146.0   146.0     1.2    0         .2      .3     0
 12-3       |   Floor coverings 2/..................................| 127.8   129.0   128.2     2.7    -.6      1.5     -.2     -.6
 12-4       |   Household appliances 2/.............................| 111.9   111.0   110.7    -2.0    -.3      -.5      .1     -.3
 12-5       |   Home electronic equipment 2/........................|  78.3    78.2    78.3     -.9     .1      0       -.3      .1
 12-62      |   Household glassware 2/..............................| 157.9   157.8   160.1     1.4    1.5       .1     -.4     1.5
 12-64      |   Household flatware 2/...............................| 138.6   138.6   138.6      .1    0        0       0       0
 12-66      |   Lawn and garden equip., ex. tractors 2/.............| 133.1   133.2   132.9      .6    -.2      0        .2     -.2
 14-11-01   |   Passenger cars......................................| 136.9   136.4   135.0     -.1   -1.0       .2      .2     -.5
 15-11      |   Toys, games, and children's vehicles................| 125.2   125.1   125.3     0       .2     -1.4      .6      .2
 15-12      |   Sporting and athletic goods 2/......................| 122.9   125.2   123.8      .4   -1.1      0        .7    -1.1
 15-2       |   Tobacco products 2/.................................| 239.2   245.1   247.3     6.0     .9      -.2     2.5      .9
 15-5       |   Mobile homes 2/.....................................| 151.4   151.0   152.0     2.1     .7      -.1      .1      .7
 15-94-02   |   Jewelry, platinum, & karat gold 2/..................| 129.5   128.3   128.6     -.7     .2      -.6      .5      .2
 15-94-04   |   Costume jewelry and novelties 2/....................| 139.8   138.6   139.8     3.6     .9      -.2      .2      .9
            |                                                       |
            | CAPITAL EQUIPMENT.....................................| 138.7   139.2   138.5      .1    -.5      -.1      .3     -.4
            |                                                       |
 11-1       |   Agricultural machinery and equipment 2/.............| 147.7   147.4   147.6      .1     .1       .1      .2      .1
 11-2       |   Construction machinery and equipment................| 140.4   142.2   142.3     2.0     .1       .1      .1      .1
 11-37      |   Metal cutting machine tools 2/......................| 154.6   154.5   154.8     2.4     .2       .1      .1      .2
 11-38      |   Metal forming machine tools 2/......................| 150.8   152.5   152.5     2.7    0        1.3     -.3     0
 11-39      |   Tools, dies, jigs, fixtures, and ind. molds 2/......| 137.4   137.8   137.7     1.5    -.1      0        .4     -.1
 11-41      |   Pumps, compressors, and equipment...................| 144.3   145.6   145.8     1.8     .1       .4      .1      .3
 11-44      |   Industrial material handling equipment 2/...........| 128.4   128.8   129.4     1.7     .5       .1      .1      .5
 11-51      |   Electronic computers (Dec. 1990=100) 2/.............|  37.9    36.2    34.7   -20.8   -4.1     -5.2     -.3    -4.1
 11-62      |   Textile machinery 2/................................| 149.4   151.6   151.3     2.1    -.2      0        .3     -.2
 11-64      |   Paper industries machinery (June 1982=100)..........| 154.8   156.7   157.3     2.4     .4      1.0     -.3      .3
 11-65      |   Printing trades machinery 2/........................| 137.9   139.8   140.0     2.9     .1       .6      .4      .1
 11-74      |   Transformers and power regulators 2/................| 129.7   128.4   128.4    -1.6    0         .1     -.7     0
 11-76      |   Communication & related equip. (Dec. 1985=100) 2/...| 113.9   113.6   113.7      .6     .1       .1     -.4      .1
 11-79-05   |   X-ray and electromedical equipment 2/...............| 108.1   107.5   108.1    -3.5     .6      -.7     -.1      .6
 11-91      |   Oil field and gas field machinery 2/................| 119.4   121.7   122.1     4.3     .3      0        .6      .3
 11-92      |   Mining machinery and equipment 2/...................| 139.3   138.4   139.6      .5     .9       .1     0        .9
 11-93      |   Office and store machines and equipment 2/..........| 111.7   112.4   112.5      .4     .1       .1      .5      .1
 12-2       |   Commercial furniture 2/.............................| 153.4   152.7   153.5     1.5     .5      -.2     -.2      .5
 14-11-05   |   Light motor trucks..................................| 162.4   161.8   161.0      .4    -.5      -.3     0       -.4
 14-11-06   |   Heavy motor trucks..................................| 138.9   141.6   141.2    -4.1    -.3       .1     -.5     -.2
 14-14      |   Truck trailers 2/...................................| 130.2   130.5   130.4     -.1    -.1      0        .3     -.1
 14-21-02   |   Civilian aircraft (Dec. 1985=100)...................| 149.3   152.3   149.4     2.3   -1.9      0       2.1    -2.0
 14-31      |   Ships (Dec. 1985=100) 2/............................| 141.0   142.6   145.4     4.8    2.0      0       -.1     2.0
 14-4       |   Railroad equipment..................................| 136.3   133.6   130.9    -5.0   -2.0      -.5    -2.1    -2.1
            |                                                       |
            |INTERMEDIATE MATERIALS, SUPPLIES, AND COMPONENTS.......| 126.0   125.6   125.3     -.1    -.2      -.1     -.6     -.3
            |                                                       |
            | INTERMEDIATE FOODS AND FEEDS..........................| 125.6   127.3   127.5     1.8     .2      -.8     1.4      .4
            |                                                       |
 02-12-03   |   Flour 2/............................................| 123.9   119.4   123.6   -12.0    3.5      1.3    -2.7     3.5
 02-53      |   Refined sugar 2/....................................| 125.2   126.8   125.7     1.9    -.9     -1.0     1.4     -.9
 02-54      |   Confectionery materials.............................| 111.3   108.2   107.8     1.4    -.4     -2.5      .8    -1.7
 02-72      |   Crude vegetable oils 2/.............................| 110.1   119.4   114.3    -6.5   -4.3     -2.1     6.0    -4.3
 02-9       |   Prepared animal feeds 2/............................| 132.1   136.3   137.6     2.1    1.0      0       3.6     1.0
            |                                                       |
            | INTERMEDIATE MATERIALS LESS FOODS AND FEEDS...........| 126.1   125.5   125.2     -.2    -.2      -.1     -.6     -.3
            |                                                       |
 03-1       |   Synthetic fibers 2/.................................| 111.6   110.9   111.5      .3     .5       .2    -2.3      .5
 03-2       |   Processed yarns and threads 2/......................| 114.6   114.7   114.3     -.3    -.3      0       -.2     -.3
 03-3       |   Gray fabrics 2/.....................................| 121.5   121.8   121.4     -.8    -.3       .2      .1     -.3
 03-4       |   Finished fabrics....................................| 123.6   123.5   124.0      .3     .4      0       -.1     0
 03-83-03   |   Industrial textile products 2/......................| 127.5   128.2   127.5     4.9    -.5      -.8     1.3     -.5
 04-2       |   Leather.............................................| 182.5   186.0   188.8     7.2    1.5      1.3      .1     2.0
 05-32      |   Liquefied petroleum gas 2/..........................| 114.7    87.2    82.6     2.0   -5.3     -7.3   -20.7    -5.3
 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 See footnotes at end of table.

 Table 2.  Producer Price Indexes and percent changes for selected commodity groupings by stage of processing - Continued
 (1982=100 unless otherwise indicated)
 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
            |                                                       |                       |Unadjusted     |
            |                                                       |                       |percent        |Seasonally adjusted
            |                                                       |   Unadjusted index    |change to      |percent change from:
  Commodity |                                                       |                       |Apr. 1997 from:|
    code    |                      Grouping                         |_______________________|_______________|________________________
            |                                                       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |
            |                                                       |Dec.   |Mar.   |Apr.   | Apr.  | Mar.  |Jan. to|Feb. to|Mar. to
            |                                                       |1996 1/|1997 1/|1997 1/| 1996  | 1997  |  Feb. |  Mar. |  Apr.
 ___________|_______________________________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|________
            |                                                       |
            | INTERMEDIATE MATERIALS LESS FOODS AND FEEDS           |
            |   -Continued..........................................|
 05-42      |   Commercial electric power...........................| 127.5   127.4   127.4     0.6    0        0.1    -0.2     0.5
 05-43      |   Industrial electric power...........................| 127.7   128.1   127.8    -1.0    -.2       .1      .1     -.1
 05-52      |   Commercial natural gas (Dec. 1990=100)..............| 115.0   110.5   103.5      .9   -6.3     -2.5    -6.8    -4.9
 05-53      |   Industrial natural gas (Dec. 1990=100)..............| 112.9   105.8   101.8     5.4   -3.8     -6.4   -13.0    -2.2
 05-54      |   Natural gas to electric utilities (Dec. 1990=100)...|  98.8    96.2    87.7    -2.3   -8.8       .8   -16.5    -4.8
 05-72-03   |   Jet fuels...........................................|  75.0    66.1    61.6    -7.6   -6.8      2.7    -8.7    -6.1
 05-73-03   |   No. 2 Diesel fuel...................................|  76.0    65.9    65.9   -12.6    0        1.6   -10.7     -.3
 05-74      |   Residual fuel 2/....................................|  64.4    53.8    49.9   -11.2   -7.2      2.3   -20.4    -7.2
 06-1       |   Industrial chemicals 2/.............................| 127.5   127.8   126.6     -.2    -.9       .5     -.6     -.9
 06-21      |   Prepared paint......................................| 150.1   151.8   152.5     4.5     .5       .4      .3      .4
 06-22      |   Paint materials 2/..................................| 139.4   140.5   139.8    -2.3    -.5       .1     -.1     -.5
 06-31      |   Medicinal and botanical chemicals 2/................| 129.0   129.2   132.3     3.4    2.4      -.2     0       2.4
 06-4       |   Fats and oils, inedible 2/..........................| 137.6   132.7   116.3      .2  -12.4     -2.5    -9.7   -12.4
 06-51      |   Mixed fertilizers...................................| 113.1   113.4   113.5    -2.4     .1      0       -.2     -.9
 06-52-01   |   Nitrogenates........................................| 136.8   136.4   141.5     4.7    3.7      -.2    -1.5     3.8
 06-52-02   |   Phosphates 2/.......................................| 111.8   112.2   112.2    -8.5    0       -1.0      .4     0
 06-53      |   Other agricultural chemicals........................| 146.9   143.4   144.4    -1.2     .7     -2.7      .9      .7
 06-6       |   Plastic resins and materials 2/.....................| 137.7   138.8   139.0     8.8     .1       .8      .4      .1
 07-11-02   |   Synthetic rubber 2/.................................| 121.2   120.8   119.6    -2.2   -1.0      -.4     -.7    -1.0
 07-21      |   Plastic construction products 2/....................| 130.3   128.2   128.9    -1.4     .5      1.3     -.5      .5
 07-22      |   Unsupported plastic film, sheet, & other shapes.....| 133.0   131.4   131.4      .1    0        -.3     -.5      .5
 07-26      |   Plastic parts and components for manufacturing 2/...| 117.4   117.5   117.4     -.3    -.1      0        .1     -.1
 08-11      |   Softwood lumber 2/..................................| 202.4   210.3   214.9    20.4    2.2      1.6     1.3     2.2
 08-12      |   Hardwood lumber 2/..................................| 166.0   170.6   172.1     5.1     .9       .3     1.0      .9
 08-2       |   Millwork 2/.........................................| 169.3   170.4   170.8     3.8     .2       .2      .1      .2
 08-3       |   Plywood 2/..........................................| 155.3   164.0   159.0     4.9   -3.0      2.9     3.1    -3.0
 09-11      |   Woodpulp 2/.........................................| 128.2   125.6   121.9     1.3   -2.9     -1.3    -1.1    -2.9
 09-13      |   Paper 2/............................................| 142.1   139.9   141.6    -7.2    1.2      -.6     -.1     1.2
 09-14      |   Paperboard..........................................| 147.6   139.9   137.2   -15.2   -1.9     -2.8    -2.7    -2.7
 09-15-03   |   Paper boxes and containers 2/.......................| 147.4   145.5   142.3    -9.7   -2.2      -.5    -1.2    -2.2
 09-2       |   Building paper and board 2/.........................| 133.7   131.2   129.7    -4.8   -1.1      -.9      .3    -1.1
 09-37      |   Commercial printing (June 1982=100) 2/..............| 148.1   147.9   147.9     -.3    0         .1     -.1     0
 10-15      |   Foundry and forge shop products.....................| 133.0   134.4   134.2     1.4    -.1       .1      .4     -.1
 10-17      |   Steel mill products 2/..............................| 115.6   116.0   116.3     1.2     .3       .3     0        .3
 10-22      |   Primary nonferrous metals 2/........................| 121.5   131.2   129.0    -2.6   -1.7      1.4     3.9    -1.7
 10-25-01   |   Aluminum mill shapes 2/.............................| 140.3   146.5   146.9     -.3     .3      1.7     1.1      .3
 10-25-02   |   Copper and brass mill shapes 2/.....................| 177.1   184.7   182.0     -.2   -1.5      -.4     3.8    -1.5
 10-26      |   Nonferrous wire and cable 2/........................| 147.4   149.9   150.2     1.1     .2       .3     1.0      .2
 10-3       |   Metal containers 2/.................................| 109.1   108.3   107.9    -2.4    -.4       .2      .2     -.4
 10-4       |   Hardware............................................| 144.2   144.7   145.3     1.3     .4      -.1     -.1      .5
 10-5       |   Plumbing fixtures and brass fittings................| 171.4   174.6   174.8     2.2     .1      1.0     -.6      .1
 10-6       |   Heating equipment...................................| 151.9   151.9   152.2     1.1     .2      -.3     -.1      .3
 10-7       |   Fabricated structural metal products................| 138.6   139.3   139.6     1.7     .2       .2     0        .2
 10-88      |   Fabricated ferrous wire products (June 1982=100) 2/.| 127.0   127.0   127.3      .4     .2       .1     0        .2
 10-89      |   Other misc. metal products 2/.......................| 126.1   126.2   126.2      .5    0         .2     -.2     0
 11-45      |   Mechanical power transmission equipment.............| 152.5   154.6   154.6     2.3    0         .6      .1     0
 11-48      |   Air conditioning and refrigeration equipment........| 133.0   132.6   132.8      .1     .2      -.6      .2      .3
 11-49-02   |   Metal valves, ex.fluid power (Dec. 1982=100) 2/.....| 151.0   152.5   153.2     2.3     .5       .3      .4      .5
 11-49-05   |   Ball and roller bearings............................| 159.5   162.5   163.4     4.0     .6      -.4     1.6      .8
 11-71      |   Wiring devices......................................| 152.0   152.9   153.5     1.7     .4      -.3      .1      .5
 11-73      |   Motors, generators, motor generator sets............| 144.2   144.2   144.5    -1.1     .2      0       -.1      .1
 11-75      |   Switchgear, switchboard, etc., equipment............| 144.0   144.5   144.6     2.0     .1       .2     -.3      .1
 11-78      |   Electronic components and accessories 2/............| 107.2   105.7   105.5    -3.6    -.2      -.8     -.4     -.2
 11-94      |   Internal combustion engines.........................| 139.6   139.7   139.8     1.1     .1      -.2      .4      .1
 11-95      |   Machine shop products 2/............................| 134.7   134.6   134.9     1.3     .2      0       -.2      .2
 13-11      |   Flat glass 2/.......................................| 109.9   108.5   108.4    -1.5    -.1      -.4     -.3     -.1
 13-22      |   Cement..............................................| 135.9   136.6   140.0     5.0    2.5       .4     -.2      .7
 13-3       |   Concrete products...................................| 134.7   135.4   135.5     2.0     .1       .1      .1      .1
 13-6       |   Asphalt felts and coatings 2/.......................|  99.7    99.4   100.2      .3     .8       .2     -.5      .8
 13-7       |   Gypsum products 2/..................................| 160.8   168.4   170.5    17.3    1.2      -.6      .5     1.2
 13-8       |   Glass containers 2/.................................| 127.4   125.9   125.9    -2.9    0       -1.6     0       0
 14-12      |   Motor vehicle parts 2/..............................| 116.2   115.3   115.3     -.9    0        -.2      .1     0
 14-23      |   Aircraft engines & engine parts (Dec. 1985=100).....| 135.6   137.3   137.8     2.9     .4       .9      .1      .9
 14-25      |   Aircraft parts & aux.equip.,nec (June 1985=100) 2/..| 139.5   140.4   140.2      .6    -.1      -.4     -.1     -.1
 15-42      |   Photographic supplies 2/............................| 129.7   129.3   129.3     -.4    0        0       0       0
 15-6       |   Medical/surgical/personal aid devices...............| 142.9   144.0   144.2      .6     .1      -.2      .1      .5
            |                                                       |
            | CRUDE MATERIALS FOR FURTHER PROCESSING................| 121.6   110.3   108.9    -4.8   -1.3     -5.9    -6.9     -.9
            |                                                       |
            |  CRUDE FOODSTUFFS AND FEEDSTUFFS......................| 113.6   114.0   116.8    -2.3    2.5     -1.9     2.1     3.3
            |                                                       |
 01-21      |   Wheat 2/............................................| 114.0   113.2   121.7   -18.5    7.5     -2.0      .7     7.5
 01-22-02-05|   Corn................................................| 105.6   120.3   119.2   -32.5    -.9       .9     9.9    -3.9
 01-31      |   Slaughter cattle....................................|  95.5   100.5   103.3    14.0    2.8     -2.3     6.9     5.0
 01-32      |   Slaughter hogs......................................|  91.3    79.8    91.5    11.3   14.7    -10.3   -10.2    19.2
 01-41-02   |   Slaughter broilers/fryers...........................| 157.5   123.4   132.3     6.3    7.2     -2.9   -15.7    13.5
 01-42      |   Slaughter turkeys...................................| 125.9    99.4   111.8    -2.1   12.5       .7    -1.7     8.1
 01-6       |   Fluid milk..........................................| 102.5    98.6    98.3    -3.3    -.3     -1.1     3.9     -.7
 01-83-01-31|   Soybeans............................................| 115.7   144.8   142.4     8.0   -1.7      3.7    11.7    -3.5
 02-52-01-01|   Cane sugar,raw 2/...................................| 117.9   116.4   116.1    -1.9    -.3     -2.0     1.0     -.3
 
            |                                                       |
            |  CRUDE NONFOOD MATERIALS..............................| 122.5   103.9    99.7    -6.6   -4.0     -8.3   -12.5    -4.1
            |                                                       |
 01-51-01-01|   Raw cotton..........................................| 120.8   122.5   114.7   -20.1   -6.4     -1.3      .3   -10.2
 01-92-01-01|   Leaf tobacco 2/.....................................| 113.2   111.7     (3)     (3)    (3)      4.8    -8.2     (3)
 04-11      |   Cattle hides 2/.....................................| 205.4   211.8   212.0    20.7     .1       .3     2.0      .1
 05-1       |   Coal 2/.............................................|  93.7    96.4   101.4     7.5    5.2     -3.7     3.2     5.2
 05-31      |   Natural gas 2/......................................| 140.7    92.8    80.5   -13.3  -13.3    -14.7   -29.2   -13.3
 05-61      |   Crude petroleum 2/..................................|  70.9    56.3    56.1   -15.0    -.4    -12.2   -13.4     -.4
 08-5       |   Logs, timber, etc. 2/...............................| 209.5   215.2   215.2     7.5    0         .7     0       0
 09-12      |   Wastepaper 2/.......................................| 146.6   166.7   154.0    25.1   -7.6       .9     8.4    -7.6
 10-11      |   Iron ore 2/.........................................|  96.7    99.7    99.7     2.0    0        0       0       0
 10-12      |   Iron and steel scrap 2/.............................| 172.2   186.2   180.2    -8.9   -3.2      5.2    -2.2    -3.2
 10-21      |   Nonferrous metal ores (Dec. 1983=100) 2/............|  83.9    88.0    83.5   -12.6   -5.1      0       4.6    -5.1
 10-23-01   |   Copper base scrap 2/................................| 157.9   169.2   164.9    -8.4   -2.5     -3.0     2.7    -2.5
 10-23-02   |   Aluminum base scrap.................................| 174.8   199.8   196.0     6.6   -1.9       .4     3.6    -2.1
 13-21      |   Construction sand, gravel, and crushed stone........| 146.3   147.7   148.2     1.9     .3      0        .4      .1
 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
 1/  The indexes for December 1996 have been recalculated                             2/  Not seasonally adjusted.
     to incorporate late reports and corrections by respondents.                      3/  Not available.
     All indexes are subject to revision four months after original
     publication.
 
 
 Table 3.  Producer Price Indexes for selected commodity groupings
 (1982=100 unless otherwise indicated)
 _______________________________________________________________________________________________
          |                                                |                                   |
          |                                                |         Unadjusted index 1/       |
 Commodity|                                                |___________________________________|
   code   |                    Grouping                    | Dec. 1996 |March 1997 |April 1997 |
 _________|________________________________________________|___________|___________|___________|
          |                                                |           |           |           |
          | Finished Goods (1967=100)......................|   372.3   |   371.0   |   369.3   |
          | All commodities................................|   129.1   |   127.7   |   127.2   |
          |                                                |           |           |           |
          |                                                |           |           |           |
          |            MAJOR COMMODITY GROUPS              |           |           |           |
          |                                                |           |           |           |
          | Farm products and processed foods and feeds....|   127.8   |   128.4   |   128.7   |
 01       |   Farm products................................|   114.8   |   116.0   |   116.6   |
 02       |   Processed foods and feeds....................|   134.2   |   134.6   |   134.6   |
          |                                                |           |           |           |
          | Industrial commodities.........................|   129.3   |   127.5   |   126.9   |
 03       |   Textile products and apparel.................|   122.7   |   122.6   |   122.5   |
 04       |   Hides, skins, leather, and related products..|   154.4   |   157.1   |   157.6   |
 05       |   Fuels and related products and power 2/......|    93.3   |    84.6   |    82.9   |
 06       |   Chemicals and allied products 2/.............|   143.2   |   144.0   |   143.8   |
 07       |   Rubber and plastic products..................|   123.7   |   123.3   |   123.2   |
 08       |   Lumber and wood products.....................|   179.7   |   184.2   |   184.9   |
 09       |   Pulp, paper, and allied products.............|   167.2   |   166.6   |   166.1   |
 10       |   Metals and metal products....................|   129.9   |   132.2   |   131.8   |
 11       |   Machinery and equipment......................|   126.2   |   126.2   |   126.2   |
 12       |   Furniture and household durables.............|   130.9   |   130.9   |   130.9   |
 13       |   Nonmetallic mineral products.................|   131.9   |   132.7   |   133.2   |
 14       |   Transportation equipment.....................|   142.6   |   142.9   |   142.2   |
 15       |   Miscellaneous products.......................|   148.5   |   150.1   |   150.6   |
          |                                                |           |           |           |
          | Industrial commodities less fuels and related  |           |           |           |
          |   products and power...........................|   138.8   |   139.4   |   139.2   |
          |                                                |           |           |           |
          |                                                |           |           |           |
          |             OTHER COMMODITY GROUPINGS          |           |           |           |
          |                                                |           |           |           |
 01-1     | Fruits and melons, fresh and dry vegetables,   |           |           |           |
          |   and tree nuts................................|   119.6   |   125.6   |   111.2   |
 01-2     | Grains.........................................|   109.6   |   119.3   |   121.2   |
 01-3     | Slaughter livestock............................|    95.8   |    96.3   |   101.6   |
 01-4     | Slaughter poultry..............................|   149.0   |   117.4   |   127.0   |
 01-5     | Plant and animal fibers........................|   120.4   |   122.5   |   115.1   |
 01-7     | Chicken eggs...................................|   161.8   |   119.7   |   108.2   |
 01-8     | Hay, hayseeds, and oilseeds....................|   138.9   |   164.2   |   164.4   |
 01-83    | Oilseeds.......................................|   126.5   |   154.3   |   151.7   |
 01-9     | Other farm products............................|   168.8   |   166.6   |  'N.A.'   |
 02-1     | Cereal and bakery products.....................|   158.5   |   158.0   |   158.5   |
 02-2     | Meats, poultry, and fish.......................|   121.5   |   119.7   |   118.8   |
 02-22    | Processed poultry..............................|   121.6   |   117.6   |   116.8   |
 02-5     | Sugar and confectionery........................|   138.8   |   138.7   |   138.6   |
 02-6     | Beverages and beverage materials...............|   135.2   |   137.5   |   138.7   |
 02-63    | Packaged beverage materials....................|   126.6   |   140.5   |   146.8   |
 02-7     | Fats and oils..................................|   125.8   |   131.5   |   128.5   |
 03-81    | Apparel........................................|   125.4   |   125.6   |   125.3   |
 04-4     | Other leather and related products.............|   141.3   |   143.4   |   143.3   |
 05-3     | Gas fuels 2/...................................|   132.1   |    90.1   |    80.0   |
 05-4     | Electric power.................................|   128.2   |   128.3   |   128.1   |
 05-7     | Refined petroleum products.....................|    74.5   |    69.0   |    68.3   |
 06-3     | Drugs and pharmaceuticals......................|   215.4   |   218.6   |   219.3   |
 06-5     | Agricultural chemicals and products............|   133.7   |   132.5   |   134.0   |
 06-7     | Other chemicals and allied products............|   132.3   |   132.8   |   132.8   |
 07-1     | Rubber and rubber products.....................|   116.5   |   116.2   |   116.3   |
 07-11    | Rubber, except natural rubber..................|   120.5   |   120.1   |   118.9   |
 07-13    | Miscellaneous rubber products..................|   136.9   |   137.5   |   137.7   |
 07-2     | Plastic products...............................|   130.4   |   129.9   |   129.8   |
 08-1     | Lumber.........................................|   189.3   |   196.2   |   199.8   |
 09-1     | Pulp, paper, and products, excluding building  |           |           |           |
          |   paper and board..............................|   145.4   |   143.2   |   141.8   |
 09-15    | Converted paper and paperboard products........|   150.7   |   148.4   |   146.7   |
 10-1     | Iron and steel.................................|   124.2   |   126.1   |   125.7   |
 10-2     | Nonferrous metals..............................|   133.4   |   139.8   |   138.1   |
 10-25    | Nonferrous mill shapes.........................|   140.3   |   145.7   |   145.4   |
 11-3     | Metalworking machinery and equipment...........|   144.1   |   144.8   |   145.1   |
 11-4     | General purpose machinery and equipment........|   143.4   |   144.5   |   144.9   |
 11-6     | Special industry machinery.....................|   154.4   |   156.0   |   156.1   |
 11-7     | Electrical machinery and equipment.............|   123.2   |   122.6   |   122.7   |
 11-9     | Miscellaneous machinery and equipment..........|   130.1   |   130.4   |   130.6   |
 12-6     | Other household durable goods..................|   148.9   |   149.4   |   149.8   |
 13-2     | Concrete ingredients...........................|   140.0   |   141.1   |   142.7   |
 14-1     | Motor vehicles and equipment...................|   134.8   |   134.3   |   133.6   |
 15-1     | Toys, sporting goods, small arms, etc..........|   130.3   |   131.7   |   131.0   |
 15-4     | Photographic equipment and supplies............|   118.9   |   118.6   |   118.6   |
 15-9     | Other miscellaneous products...................|   133.1   |   133.3   |   133.6   |
 __________________________________________________________|___________|___________|___________|
 
 1/  Data for Dec. 1996 have been revised to reflect the
     availability of late reports and corrections by
     respondents.  All data are subject to revision 4
     months after original publication.
 
 2/  Prices of some items in this grouping are lagged 1 month.
 
 Table 4.  Producer price indexes for the net output of major industry groups, not seasonally adjusted
 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                   |                                              |     |         Index         |  Percent change
   Industry        |                Industry 1/                   |Index|_______________________|to_Apr._1997_from:__
     code          |                                              |base |       |       |       |        |
                   |                                              |     |Dec.   |Mar.   |Apr.   |  Apr.  |  Mar.
                   |                                              |     |1996 2/|1997 2/|1997 2/|  1996  |  1997
 __________________|______________________________________________|_____|_______|_______|_______|________|___________
                   |                                              |     |
                   |Total mining industries...................... |12/84| 104.2    83.3    79.4    -7.7    -4.7
        10         | Metal mining................................ |12/84|  87.3    91.1    87.6    -9.1    -3.8
        12         | Coal mining................................. |12/85|  90.7    92.5    95.6     4.9     3.4
        13         | Oil and gas extraction...................... |12/85| 112.1    83.3    77.8    -9.7    -6.6
        14         | Mining and quarrying of non-metallic         |     |
                   |  minerals, except fuels..................... |12/84| 127.1   128.0   128.2      .9      .2
                   |                                              |     |
                   |Total manufacturing industries............... |12/84| 128.0   127.8   127.7      .7     -.1
        20         | Food and kindred products................... |12/84| 128.2   128.2   128.3     3.0      .1
        21         | Tobacco manufactures........................ |12/84| 201.2   206.6   208.7     7.0     1.0
        22         | Textile mill products....................... |12/84| 118.6   118.9   118.8      .6     -.1
        23         | Apparel and other finished products made     |     |
                   |  from fabrics and similar materials......... |12/84| 123.1   123.3   122.9     1.2     -.3
        24         | Lumber and wood products, except furniture.. |12/84| 155.9   159.0   159.6     5.7      .4
        25         | Furniture and fixtures...................... |12/84| 137.4   137.5   137.8     1.5      .2
        26         | Paper and allied products................... |12/84| 134.7   132.4   131.2    -6.6     -.9
        27         | Printing, publishing, and allied industries. |12/84| 166.9   168.1   168.4     2.0      .2
        28         | Chemicals and allied products............... |12/84| 146.4   147.2   147.0     1.2     -.1
        29         | Petroleum refining and related products..... |12/84|  92.5    86.6    85.7    -5.3    -1.0
        30         | Rubber and miscellaneous plastic products... |12/84| 123.3   122.9   122.9      .2     0
        31         | Leather and leather products................ |12/84| 136.0   137.9   138.1     3.0      .1
        32         | Stone, clay, glass, and concrete products... |12/84| 126.5   127.1   127.5     1.7      .3
        33         | Primary metal industries.................... |12/84| 123.0   124.9   125.0      .7      .1
        34         | Fabricated metal products, except machinery  |     |
                   |  and transportation equipment............... |12/84| 126.6   127.1   127.3     1.0      .2
        35         | Machinery, except electrical................ |12/84| 118.7   119.0   118.9     -.3     -.1
        36         | Electrical and electronic machinery,         |     |
                   |  equipment, and supplies.................... |12/84| 112.7   111.9   112.0    -1.1      .1
        37         | Transportation equipment.................... |12/84| 135.1   135.6   134.8      .5     -.6
        38         | Measuring and controlling instruments;       |     |
                   |  photographic, medical, optical goods;       |     |
                   |  watches, clocks............................ |12/84| 125.2   125.4   125.7      .5      .2
        39         | Miscellaneous manufacturing industries...... |12/85| 128.3   129.0   128.7     1.0     -.2
                   |                                              |     |
                   |Services industries                           |     |
        40         | Railroad transportation..................... |12/96| 100.0    99.9   100.2     (3)      .3
        42         | Motor freight transportation and warehousing |06/93| 107.2   107.9   108.6     2.5      .6
        43         | United states postal service................ |06/89| 132.3   132.3   132.3     0       0
        44         | Water transportation........................ |12/92| 104.2   104.4   102.9     -.9    -1.4
        45         | Transportation by air....................... |12/92| 122.7   124.9   125.8     4.7      .7
        46         | Pipe lines, except natural gas.............. |12/86| 100.9    98.8    98.8    -4.7     0
        80         | Health services............................. |12/94| 105.3   106.0   106.1     1.7      .1
        81         | Legal services.............................. |12/96| 100.0   101.8   101.8     (3)     0
 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 1/ Indexes in this table are derived from the net-output-weighted industry price indexes.  Because of differences 
    in coverage and aggregation methodology, they will generally not match the movements of similarly-titled 
    indexes which are derived from traditional commodity groupings.
 2/ The indexes for Dec. 1996 have been recalculated to incorporate late reports and corrections by respondents.
    All indexes are subject to revision four months after original publication.
 3/ Not available.
Table 5.  Producer Price Indexes by stage of processing, seasonally adjusted
(1982=100)
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                       |      
                                                       |                      Index 1/   
                                                       |________________________________________________________
               Grouping                                |         |        |        |        |        |        
                                                       |   Nov.  |  Dec.  |  Jan.  |  Feb.  |  Mar.  |  Apr.    
                                                       |   1996  |  1996  |  1997  |  1997  |  1997  |  1997  
_______________________________________________________|_________|________|________|________|________|__________
      Finished goods...................................|   132.7    133.4    133.0    132.5    132.4    131.6
        Finished consumer goods........................|   131.3    132.1    131.7    131.1    130.8    129.9
          Finished consumer foods......................|   136.2    135.9    134.5    134.1    135.3    134.7
            Crude......................................|   136.4    136.0    129.7    132.8    139.3    120.9
            Processed..................................|   136.2    135.9    134.8    134.1    134.9    135.6
          Finished consumer goods, excluding foods.....|   129.0    130.3    130.3    129.6    128.7    127.8
            Nondurable goods less foods................|   125.1    127.0    126.9    126.1    124.6    123.4
            Durable goods..............................|   134.5    134.5    134.4    134.4    134.6    134.4
        Capital equipment..............................|   138.5    138.5    138.6    138.5    138.9    138.3
          Manufacturing industries.....................|   137.4    137.4    137.7    137.7    137.8    137.7
          Nonmanufacturing industries..................|   138.8    138.9    138.9    138.7    139.2    138.5
                                                       |  
      Intermediate materials, supplies, and components.|   125.8    126.4    126.7    126.6    125.9    125.5
        Materials and components for manufacturing.....|   128.1    128.3    128.6    128.5    128.4    128.3
          Materials for food manufacturing.............|   125.0    124.1    125.9    124.3    124.3    124.2
          Materials for nondurable manufacturing.......|   129.5    129.8    130.1    129.9    129.3    129.0
          Materials for durable manufacturing..........|   131.0    131.5    132.0    132.5    133.4    133.3
          Components for manufacturing.................|   126.7    126.8    126.7    126.6    126.5    126.6
        Materials and components for construction......|   145.1    144.9    145.0    145.6    146.1    146.5
        Processed fuels and lubricants.................|    91.8     94.6     95.3     94.7     90.3     88.6
          Manufacturing industries ....................|    94.7     97.2     98.2     97.0     92.4     90.8
          Nonmanufacturing industries..................|    90.0     92.9     93.5     93.1     89.0     87.1
        Containers.....................................|   137.4    137.7    138.1    137.5    136.8    134.8 
        Supplies.......................................|   135.5    135.6    135.6    135.4    135.9    136.0
          Manufacturing industries.....................|   138.9    138.9    139.0    139.0    139.0    139.0
          Nonmanufacturing industries..................|   133.8    133.8    133.8    133.5    134.2    134.5
            Feeds......................................|   128.2    127.9    127.3    127.4    132.7    134.6
            Other supplies.............................|   134.6    134.7    134.7    134.4    134.5    134.5
                                                       |   
      Crude materials for further processing...........|   115.0    122.1    125.6    118.2    110.0    109.0
        Foodstuffs and feedstuffs......................|   117.7    114.5    113.4    111.3    113.6    117.3
        Nonfood materials..............................|   109.1    122.7    129.2    118.5    103.7     99.5
          Nonfood materials except fuel 2/.............|   108.1    109.3    112.9    107.7    103.7    103.3
            Manufacturing 2/...........................|    99.9    101.0    104.6     99.2     95.2     94.7
            Construction...............................|   198.3    199.0    200.6    201.3    201.6    201.3
          Crude fuel 3/................................|   100.4    134.1    144.9    125.9     93.9     83.6
            Manufacturing industries...................|    97.6    127.6    137.3    120.4     91.9     82.7
            Nonmanufacturing industries................|   102.4    137.5    148.8    129.0     95.6     84.9
                                                       |  
                     Special groupings                 |   
                                                       |   
      Finished goods, excluding foods..................|   131.5    132.5    132.5    132.0    131.5    130.6
      Intermediate materials less foods and feeds......|   125.8    126.5    126.7    126.6    125.8    125.4
      Intermediate foods and feeds.....................|   126.3    125.6    126.6    125.6    127.3    127.8
      Crude materials less agricultural products 2/....|   108.5    122.6    129.4    118.3    103.1     99.0
                                                       |   
      Finished energy goods............................|    85.8     88.6     88.6     87.5     84.5     82.3
      Finished goods less energy.......................|   140.6    140.6    140.2    139.9    140.6    140.3
      Finished consumer goods less energy..............|   141.4    141.4    140.8    140.5    141.3    141.0
                                                       |   
      Finished goods less foods and energy.............|   142.3    142.5    142.4    142.2    142.7    142.5
      Finished consumer goods less foods and energy....|   144.6    144.9    144.8    144.6    145.1    145.1
      Consumer nondurable goods less foods and energy..|   151.9    152.4    152.2    151.8    152.6    152.8
                                                       |   
      Intermediate energy goods........................|    91.6     94.3     95.0     94.4     90.1     88.3
      Intermediate materials less energy...............|   133.3    133.4    133.6    133.6    133.7    133.7
      Intermediate materials less foods and energy.....|   133.8    133.9    134.1    134.1    134.1    134.1
                                                       |   
      Crude energy materials 2/........................|    91.9    109.6    117.2    102.7     83.0     78.7
      Crude materials less energy......................|   126.5    124.2    124.2    123.1    125.1    126.7
      Crude nonfood materials less energy 3/...........|   153.2    153.2    156.2    157.8    158.7    155.0
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  1/  All seasonally adjusted indexes are subject to change up to 5 years after original publication 
      due to the recalculation of seasonal factors each January.  The indexes for December 1996 have 
      been recalculated to incorporate late reports and corrections by respondents.  
  2/  Includes crude petroleum.
  3/  Excludes crude petroleum.


Technical Notes





Brief Explanation of
Producer Price Indexes

     Producer price indexes (PPI) measure average changes in
prices received by domestic producers of commodities in all
stages of processing. Most of the information used in
calculating the indexes is obtained through the systematic
sampling of nearly every industry in the manufacturing and
mining sectors of the economy. The PPI program also includes
some information from other sectors--agriculture, fishing,
forestry, services, and gas and electricity. Because
producer price indexes are designed to measure only the
change in prices received for the output of domestic
industries, imports are not included. The sample currently
contains about 3,200 commodities and 80,000 quotations per
month.
     There are three primary systems of indexes within the
PPI program: (1) Stage of processing indexes; (2) commodity
indexes; and (3) indexes for the net output of industries
and their products. The stage-of-processing structure
(tables 1 and 2) organizes products by class of buyer and
degree of processing. The commodity structure (tables 2 and
3) organizes products by similarity of end-use or material
composition. The entire output of various industries is
sampled to derive price indexes for the net output of
industries and their products (table 4).
     Within the stage-of-processing system, finished goods
are commodities that will not undergo further processing and
are ready for sale to the final demand user, either an
individual consumer or business firm. Consumer foods include
unprocessed foods such as eggs and fresh vegetables, as well
as processed foods such as bakery products and meats. Other
finished consumer goods include durable goods such as
automobiles, household furniture, and appliances, and
nondurable goods such as apparel and home heating oil.
Capital equipment includes producer durable goods such as
heavy motor trucks, tractors, and machine tools.
     The stage-of-processing category for intermediate
materials, supplies, and components consists partly of
commodities that have been processed but require further
processing. Examples of such semifinished goods include
flour, cotton yarn, steel mill products, and lumber. The
intermediate goods category also encompasses nondurable,
physically complete items purchased by business firms as
inputs for their operations. Examples include diesel fuel,
belts and belting, paper boxes, and fertilizers.
     Crude materials for further processing are products
entering the market for the first time that have not been
manufactured or fabricated and that are not sold directly to
consumers. Crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs include items
such as grains and livestock. Examples of crude nonfood
materials include raw cotton, crude petroleum, coal, hides
and skins, and iron and steel scrap.
     Producer price indexes for the net output of industries
and their products are grouped according to the Standard
Industrial Classification (SIC) and the Census product code
extension of the SIC. Industry price indexes are compatible
with other economic time series organized by SIC codes, such
as data on employment, wages, and productivity. Table 4
lists indexes for the net output of major mining and
manufacturing industry groups at the 2-digit level.
     Producer price indexes are based on selling prices
reported by establishments of all sizes selected by
probability sampling, with the probability of selection
proportionate to size. Individual items and transaction
terms from these firms are also chosen by probability
proportionate to size. BLS strongly encourages cooperating
companies to supply actual transaction prices at the time of
shipment to minimize the use of list prices. Prices are
normally reported by mail questionnaire for the Tuesday of
the week containing the 13th.
     Price data are provided on a voluntary and confidential
basis; no one but sworn BLS employees are allowed access to
individual company price reports. 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.
     Net output values of shipments are used as weights for
industry indexes. Net output values refer to the value of
shipments from establishments in one industry to
establishments classified in another industry. However,
weights for commodity price indexes are based on gross
shipment values, including shipment values between
establishments within the same industry. As a result, broad
commodity grouping indexes such as the all commodities index
are affected by the multiple counting of price change at
successive stages of processing, which can lead to
exaggerated or misleading signals about inflation. Stage-of-
processing indexes partially correct this defect, but
industry indexes consistently correct for this at all levels
of aggregation. Therefore, industry and stage-of-processing
indexes are more appropriate than broad commodity groupings
for economic analysis of general price trends.
     Weights for most traditional commodity groupings of the
PPI, as well as all indexes (such as stage-of-processing
indexes) calculated from traditional commodity groupings,
currently reflect 1987 values of shipments as reported in
the Census of Manufactures and other sources. From January
1987 through December 1991, PPI weights were derived from
1982 shipment values. Industry indexes shown in table 4 are
also now calculated with 1987 net output weights.
     Effective with publication of January 1988 data, many
important PPI series (including stage-of-processing
groupings and most commodity groups and individual items)
were placed on a new reference base, 1982=100, to coincide
with the reference year of the shipment weights. From 1971
through 1987, the standard reference base for most PPI
series was 1967=100. Except for rounding differences, the
shift to the new reference base did not alter any changes to
previously published percent changes for affected PPI
series. (See "Calculating Index Changes," below.) The new
reference base is not used for indexes with a base later
than December 1981, nor for indexes for the net output of
industries and their products.
     For further information on the underlying concepts and
methodology of the Producer Price Index, see chapter 16,
"Producer Prices," in BLS Handbook of Methods (September
1992), Bulletin 2414. Reprints are available from the Bureau
of Labor Statistics on request.

Calculating Index Changes

     Movements of price indexes from one month to another
are usually expressed as percent changes rather than as
changes in index points because index point chances are
affected by the level of the index in relation to its base
period, while percent changes are not. The box shows the
computation of index point and percent changes.
     Percent changes for 3-month and 6-month periods can be
expressed as annual rates that are computed according to the
standard formula for compound growth rates. These data
indicate what the percent change would be if the rate for a
given 3- or 6-month span were maintained for a 12-month
period.





                Index Point Change

     Finished Goods Price Index    107.5
     Less previous index           104.0
     Equals index point change       3.5

          Index Percent Change

     Index point change              3.5
     Divided by the previous index 104.0
     Equals                          0.034
     Result multiplied by 100        0.034 x 100
     Equals percent change           3.4

     Each index measures price changes from a reference
period which equals 100.0 (1982 or some later month). An
increase of 5.5 percent from the reference period in the
Finished Goods Price Index, for example, is shown as 105.5.
This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows:
"Prices received by domestic producers of a systematic
sample of finished goods have risen from $100 in 1982 to
$105.50 to-day." Likewise, a current index of 90.0 would
indicate that prices received by producers of finished goods
today are 10 percent lower than they were in 1982.

Seasonally Adjusted
and Unadjusted Data

     Because price data are used for different purposes by
different groups, the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes
seasonally adjusted as well as unadjusted changes each
month.
     Seasonally adjusted data are preferred for analyzing
general price trends in the economy because they eliminate
the effect of changes that normally occur at about the same
time and in about the same magnitude every year-such as
price movements resulting from normal weather patterns,
regular production and marketing cycles, model changeovers,
seasonal discounts, and holidays. For these reasons,
seasonally adjusted data more clearly reveal underlying
cyclical trends.
     Unadjusted data are of primary interest to users who
need information which can be related to actual dollar
values of transactions. Individuals requiring this
information include marketing specialists, purchasing
agents, budget and cost analysts, contract specialists, and
commodity traders. It is the unadjusted data that are
generally cited in escalating long-term contracts such as
purchasing agreements or real estate leases. (See Escalation
and Producer Price Indexes: A Guide for Contracting Parties,
BLS Report 807, September 1991, available on request from
BLS.)
     For more information, see "Appendix A: Seasonal
Adjustment Methodology at BLS," in the BLS Handbook of
Methods (September 1992), Bulletin 2414.