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http://www.bls.gov/ppi              JANUARY 14, 2005
                                     
                  Producer Price Indexes -- December 2004

     The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods fell 0.7 percent in
December, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor reported today.  This decline followed a 0.5-percent
increase in November and a 1.7-percent advance in October.  At the earlier
stages of processing, prices received by producers of intermediate goods
turned down 0.3 percent, after rising 0.8 percent in the previous month,
and the crude goods index declined 2.9 percent in December, following an
8.7-percent increase in November.  (See table A.)
     
Table A.  Monthly and annual percent changes in selected stage-of-processing price
indexes, seasonally adjusted
 ______________________________________________________________________________________
|        |                                                         |         |         |
|        |                   Finished goods                        |         |         |
|        |                                                         |         |         |
|        |---------------------------------------------------------|         |         |
|        |          |          |          |         |  Change in   |         |         |
|        |          |          |          | Except  |finished goods| Inter-  |         |
|        |          |          |          |foods and|from 12 months| mediate |  Crude  |
| Month  |  Total   |  Foods   |  Energy  | energy  |  ago(unadj.) | goods   |  goods  |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
2003                                                    
  Dec.        0.2       0.2         1.4       -0.1         4.0         0.4       3.4
                                                                             
2004                                                                          
  Jan.         .6      -1.3         4.7         .3         3.3          .9       4.1
  Feb.         .1        .4          .3        -.1         2.1         1.0       1.5
  Mar.         .6       1.5          .6         .3         1.5          .8       1.6
  Apr.         .7       1.3         1.8         .1         3.7         1.4       1.8
  May          .6       1.5         1.3         .2         4.9         1.0       3.2
  June        -.2       -.4        -1.7         .3         4.0          .5        .7
  July          0      -1.8         2.7        -.2         3.8          .5       -.4
  Aug.        r 0       -.3       r -.2         .3       r 3.3       r 1.1     r -.1
  Sept.        .1       r 0       r -.8         .3         3.3        r .2    r -5.1
  Oct.        1.7       1.6         6.8         .3         4.4          .9       4.3
  Nov.         .5        .4         1.8         .2         5.0          .8       8.7
  Dec.        -.7        .1        -4.0         .1         4.1         -.3      -2.9
r=revised.  Some of the figures shown above and elsewhere in this release may differ from 
those previously reported because data for August 2004 have been revised to reflect the
availability of late reports and corrections by respondents.

                                    -2-
                                     
     Among finished goods, prices for energy goods dropped 4.0 percent in
December, as opposed to the 1.8-percent increase registered in November.
(Excluding energy, prices for finished goods rose 0.1 percent in December.)
The index for finished consumer foods inched up 0.1 percent in December,
compared with a 0.4-percent gain in the prior month.  Prices for finished
goods other than foods and energy rose 0.1 percent in December, following a
0.2-percent increase in November.

     Before seasonal adjustment, the Producer Price Index for Finished
Goods declined 0.9 percent to 150.4 (1982=100).  From December 2003 to
December 2004, finished goods prices increased 4.1 percent, after climbing
4.0 percent during 2003.  Prices for finished goods other than foods and
energy gained 2.2 percent in 2004, following a 1.0-percent rise in 2003.
Prices for finished energy goods advanced 13.4 percent in 2004, compared
with an 11.4-percent increase in the previous year.  By contrast, the
finished consumer foods index moved up 2.8 percent in 2004, following a 7.7-
percent advance in the prior year.  At the earlier stages of processing,
the intermediate goods index jumped 9.1 percent from December 2003 to
December 2004, after registering a 3.9-percent gain during 2003.  Prices
received by producers of crude materials for further processing increased
18.0 percent in 2004, following a 19.5-percent rise in the prior year.
(See summary below.)
     
     
Summary of December-to-December, 9-month, and 3-month seasonally adjusted annual rates for 
selected stages of processing
 ________________________________________________________________________________________________
|                               |     Percentage     |                                           |
|                               |      change 12     |  Seasonally adjusted annual rate for 3    |
|                               |    months ended    |               months ended                |
|           Grouping            |     in December    |-------------------------------------------|
|                               |--------------------|   March  |   June   |September | December |
|                               | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |   2004   |   2004   |   2004   |   2004   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
 Finished goods                   1.2     4.0    4.1      5.4        4.4        0.5       6.3 
   Finished consumer foods        -.6     7.7    2.8      2.1        9.9       -8.0       8.7 
   Finished energy goods         12.3    11.4   13.4     24.0        5.6        7.1      18.2 
   Finished goods less foods                                                                 
   and energy                     -.5     1.0    2.2      2.1        2.4        1.6       2.6
      Finished consumer goods,                                                               
      excluding foods and                                                                    
      energy                      -.5     1.1    2.0      2.5        2.0        1.3       2.3
      Capital equipment           -.6      .8    2.4      1.4        2.9        2.0       3.1
                                                                                             
 Intermediate materials, supplies,                                                            
 and components                   3.2     3.9    9.1     11.1       12.1        7.5       5.3
   Intermediate foods and feeds   4.2    12.9   -1.9      9.9       23.7      -29.0      -4.1
   Intermediate energy goods     12.0    10.9   14.7     17.5       21.5        9.5      11.0
   Intermediate materials less                                                               
   foods and energy               1.5     2.1    8.3      9.8        9.3        9.6       4.6
      Materials for nondurable                                                               
      manufacturing               4.2     4.9   13.7      9.6       13.7       18.4      12.6   
      Materials for durable                                                                  
      manufacturing               3.1     4.0   18.0     31.8       14.7       21.9       4.8               
      Materials and components                                                               
      for construction             .8     3.0   10.0     16.3       12.1       10.7       1.2      
                                                                                             
 Crude materials for further      
 processing                      24.7    19.5   18.0     32.9       25.7      -20.4      46.7                                                                         
   Foodstuffs and feedstuffs      4.5    24.1   -2.5     16.7        9.7      -37.5      16.2
   Crude energy materials        61.5    14.4   37.3     35.5       91.6      -27.1      87.9
   Crude nonfood materials                                                                   
   less energy                   12.6    21.6   20.1     63.1      -33.2       51.3      27.5    
NOTE: Late reports and corrections by respondents may cause some indexes to change 4 months 
after original publication.  In addition, seasonally adjusted indexes may be revised for 5 years
due to the recalculation of seasonal factors each January.
     
                                    -3-

Finished goods
     
     The index for finished energy goods turned down 4.0 percent in
December, after increasing 1.8 percent in November.  Gasoline prices fell
11.1 percent, following a 0.7-percent decline in the preceding month.  The
indexes for home heating oil and diesel fuel also fell more in December
than they did in November.  Prices for residential natural gas and
liquefied petroleum gas turned down, after rising in November, while the
residential electric power index increased less than it did in the prior
month.
     
     Prices for finished consumer foods edged up 0.1 percent in December,
after increasing 0.4 percent in the prior month.  In December, rising
prices for beef and veal, eggs for fresh use, dairy products, fresh fruits
and melons, confectionery end products, and processed young chickens
outweighed price declines for fresh and dry vegetables, pork, shortening
and cooking oils, finfish and shellfish, and bakery products.
     
     The index for finished consumer goods other than foods and energy
inched up 0.1 percent in December, following a 0.2-percent gain in the
prior month.  Prices for pharmaceutical preparations, cosmetics and other
toilet preparations, mobile homes, newspaper circulation, book publishing,
and cigarettes advanced in December.  By contrast, prices for passenger
cars, periodical circulation, alcoholic beverages, light motor trucks,
sporting and athletic goods, and men's and boys' apparel fell in December.
During 2004, the index for finished consumer goods other than foods and
energy advanced 2.0 percent, following a 1.1-percent rise in 2003.
     
Table B.  Monthly and annual percent changes in selected price indexes for 
intermediate goods and crude goods, seasonally adjusted
 __________________________________________________________________________________
|      |                                     |                                     |
|      |       Intermediate goods            |       Crude goods                   |
|      |                                     |                                     |
|      |---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|      |       |        |         |Change in |       |         |         | Change  |
|      |       |        |         | interme- |       |         |         |in crude |
|      |       |        |         |  diate   |       |         |         | goods   |
|      |       |        |         |goods from|       |         |         | from 12 |
|      |       |        | Except  |12 months |       |         | Except  | months  |
|      |       |        |foods and|   ago    |       | Energy  |foods and|  ago    |
|Month | Foods | Energy | energy  | (unadj.) | Foods | (unadj.)| energy  |(unadj.) |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
 2003                                                            
  Dec.    -0.3     1.4       0.2       3.9      0.3       7.0       3.0      19.5
                                                                        
 2004                                                                    
  Jan.    -1.3     2.9        .6       3.9     -6.8      15.3       3.7      16.1
  Feb.     1.3      .7        .9       2.8      4.3      -2.8       6.1      12.0
  Mar.     2.5      .4        .8       1.5      6.9      -3.7       2.8        .5
  Apr.     4.7     1.8       1.1       5.4      3.3       3.8      -4.3      21.6
  May      2.8     1.5        .8       7.2      2.1       8.4      -5.2      23.6
  June    -2.0     1.6        .3       7.0     -2.9       4.6       -.5      19.4
  July    -2.1     1.3        .5       7.3     -4.9      -1.2      11.0      22.5
  Aug.  r -4.4     2.9     r 1.0     r 8.0     -4.5     r 2.2       2.5    r 23.5
  Sept. r -1.9    -1.9      r .8       8.4     -2.1    r -8.6      -2.5      14.2
  Oct.    -1.9     4.3        .3       9.0      -.8       7.9       5.4      15.7
  Nov.       0     2.3        .4       9.8      1.8      17.0       2.5      25.5
  Dec.      .8    -3.8        .5       9.1      2.9      -7.3      -1.7      18.0
r=revised.  Some of the figures shown above and elsewhere in this release may 
differ from those previously reported because data for August 2004 have been 
revised to reflect the availability of late reports and corrections by respondents.

                                    -4-

     A 0.1-percent increase in capital equipment prices in December
followed a 0.2-percent gain in November.  Rising prices for railroad
equipment, civilian aircraft, agricultural machinery and equipment,
commercial furniture, transformers and power regulators, and metal cutting
machine tools more than compensated for declining prices for communication
and related equipment, passenger cars, integrating and measuring
instruments, light motor trucks, truck trailers, and electronic computers.
For the 12 months ended December 2004, capital equipment prices advanced
2.4 percent, after posting a 0.8-percent increase during the previous year.
     
Intermediate goods

     The Producer Price Index for Intermediate Materials, Supplies, and
Components decreased 0.3 percent in December, after registering a 0.8-
percent advance in November.  This downturn is attributable to prices for
intermediate energy goods, which fell in December following an increase a
month earlier.  On the other hand, the indexes for materials and components
for construction and intermediate foods and feeds rose, after showing no
change in November, while prices for durable and nondurable manufacturing
materials moved up faster than they did in the prior month.  The index for
intermediate goods other than foods and energy went up 0.5 percent in
December, following a 0.4-percent gain in November.  (See table B.)

     Prices for intermediate energy goods fell 3.8 percent in December,
compared with a 2.3-percent advance in November.  The jet fuels index
dropped 23.0 percent, after rising 4.4 percent in the preceding month.
Prices for industrial natural gas, commercial natural gas, natural gas to
electric utilities, liquefied petroleum gas, and residual fuels also turned
down, following increases in November.  The indexes for gasoline and diesel
fuel fell more in December than they did in the prior month, while prices
for commercial electric power and industrial electric power increased less
in December than they did in November.  From December 2003 to December
2004, prices for intermediate energy goods rose 14.7 percent, following a
10.9-percent gain in 2003.

     The index for materials and components for construction moved up 0.4
percent in December, after showing no change in November.  Prices for
softwood lumber increased 0.7 percent, following an 8.0-percent drop in the
prior month.  The indexes for plywood, building paper and board, wiring
devices, switchgear, fabricated ferrous wire products, heating equipment,
and gypsum products also turned up, after falling in November.  Prices for
nonferrous wire and cable and cement rose more in December than they did in
the prior month.  By contrast, the index for fabricated structural metal
products edged up 0.2 percent, following a 0.6-percent gain in November.
Prices increases also slowed from November to December for concrete
products, asphalt felts and coatings, and steel mill products.  The index
for plastic construction products fell, after rising in the preceding
month.  During 2004, prices for materials and components for construction
jumped 10.0 percent, following a 3.0-percent increase in the previous year.

     Prices for materials for durable manufacturing advanced 1.0 percent in
December, following a 0.5-percent increase in November.  The index for
building paper and board rose 7.3 percent, after falling 8.3 percent in the
prior month.  Prices for plywood, primary nonferrous metals, cold rolled
steel sheet and strip, and copper and brass mill shapes also turned up in
December.  The indexes for aluminum mill shapes; hot rolled steel bars,
plates, and structural shapes; and cold finished bars went up more than
they did in November.  Alternatively, prices for titanium mill shapes
declined 0.8 percent, following a 20.3-percent upsurge in November.  The
index for hardwood lumber decreased at a faster rate than it did in the
previous month, and prices for prepared paint and semifinished steel mill
products rose less in December than they did in the prior month.  In 2004,
the index for materials for durable manufacturing climbed 18.0 percent,
following a 4.0-percent increase in 2003.

                                    -5-

     After showing no change in November, prices for intermediate foods and
feeds advanced 0.8 percent in December.  The index for beef and veal
increased 3.9 percent in December, compared with a 1.6-percent decline a
month earlier.  Prices for prepared animal feeds; fluid milk products; and
dry, condensed, and evaporated milk products also moved up, after falling
in November.  By contrast, flour prices moved down 1.9 percent in December,
following a 3.3-percent gain in the prior month.  The indexes for pork and
confectionery materials also turned down, after climbing in November.
Prices for natural, processed, and imitation cheese increased less in
December than they did in November, while prices for shortening and cooking
oils decreased more in December than they did in November.  From December
2003 to December 2004, prices for intermediate foods and feeds fell 1.9
percent, following a 12.9-percent gain in 2003.

     The index for materials for nondurable manufacturing increased 1.1
percent in December, following a 1.0-percent advance in November.  In
December, rising prices for plastic resins and materials, paper, processed
or refined potassium salts, synthetic rubber, and paint materials
outweighed falling prices for primary basic organic chemicals, finished
fabrics, and inedible fats and oils.  The index for materials for
nondurable manufacturing climbed 13.7 percent in 2004, following a 4.9-
percent gain in 2003.

Crude goods

     The Producer Price Index for Crude Materials for Further Processing
fell 2.9 percent in December, following an 8.7-percent rise in November.
December prices for both crude energy materials and crude goods other than
foods and energy fell, after climbing in November.  By contrast, the crude
foodstuffs and feedstuffs index rose more in December than it did in
November.  (See table B.)

     The crude energy materials index moved down 7.3 percent in December,
after increasing 17.0 percent in November.  The natural gas index fell 6.0
percent, following a 43.7-percent jump in November.  Crude petroleum prices
declined more in December than they did in November.  By contrast, a 0.8-
percent advance in coal prices in December followed no change in the prior
month.  In 2004, the index for crude energy materials increased 37.3
percent, compared with a 14.4-percent rise in 2003.

     Prices for basic industrial materials decreased 1.7 percent in
December, after rising 2.5 percent in November.  The iron and steel scrap
index declined 10.8 percent, more than reversing an 8.0-percent gain in
November.  Prices for raw cotton and softwood logs, bolts, and timber also
fell in December, after registering increases in the previous month.  Price
increases for pulpwood and phosphates slowed from November to December.  By
contrast, the iron ore index advanced 9.7 percent in December, after
remaining unchanged in November.  The indexes for both copper base scrap
and aluminum base scrap rose more in December than they did in the prior
month.  Wastepaper prices increased in December, after declining in the
preceding month.  In 2004, the index for basic industrial materials moved
up 20.1 percent, compared with a 21.6-percent gain in 2003.
     
     The crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs index gained 2.9 percent in
December, following a 1.8-percent advance in November.  A 2.7-percent rise
in prices for slaughter cattle in December followed a 2.8-percent decrease
in the previous month.  The corn, slaughter broilers and fryers, and fresh
fruits and melons indexes also moved up, after falling in November.  Prices
for soybeans rose more in December than they did in the preceding month.
By contrast, the slaughter hogs index fell 0.8 percent, following a 16.4-
percent increase in the prior month.  Prices for fresh vegetables (except
potatoes) and wheat decreased in December, after moving up a month earlier.
In 2004, the crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs index moved down 2.5 percent,
compared with a 24.1-percent increase in 2003.

                                    -6-

Net output price indexes for mining, manufacturing, and services industries

Mining.  The Producer Price Index for the Net Output of Total Mining
Industries declined 5.8 percent in December, following a 13.6-percent
increase in the prior month.  (Net output price indexes are not seasonally
adjusted.)  Leading this downturn, prices received by the natural gas
liquid extraction industry fell 12.7 percent, after posting a 34.1-percent
gain in November.  The industry indexes for crude petroleum and natural gas
extraction, oil and gas operations support activities, and support
activities for coal mining also turned down in December, while prices
received by the industry for gold ore mining rose less than they did in the
preceding month.  By contrast, the rate of increase in the industry index
for oil and gas well drilling climbed from 1.2 percent in November to 3.5
percent in December.  Prices received by the industries for iron ore mining
and bituminous coal underground mining rose, after showing no change a
month earlier, while the industry indexes for potash, soda, and borate
mineral mining and for bituminous coal and lignite surface mining went up,
compared with decreases in November.  In December, the Producer Price Index
for the Net Output of Total Mining Industries was 170.0 (December
1984=100).  Prices received by the mining sector advanced 31.8 percent in
2004, after increasing 13.4 percent in 2003.
     
Manufacturing.  The Producer Price Index for the Net Output of Total
Manufacturing Industries fell 0.9 percent in December, following a 0.3-
percent decrease in the previous month.  Contributing most significantly to
this faster rate of decline, the industry group index for petroleum and
coal products manufacturing dropped 13.0 percent in December, after moving
down 3.5 percent in the preceding month.  Prices received by manufacturers
of furniture and related products and primary metals advanced less than
they did in November.  The industry group indexes for textile mills and
printing and related support activities turned down, while prices received
by the textile product mills industry group showed no change in December,
following gains in the prior month.  Alternatively, the industry group
index for food manufacturers moved up 0.8 percent in December, after
remaining unchanged in the previous month.  Prices received by the industry
group for electrical equipment and appliances also rose, following no
change in November.  The industry group indexes for plastic and rubber
products manufacturing and chemical manufacturing increased more in
December than they did a month earlier, while prices received by producers
of transportation equipment edged up, following declines in November.  In
December, the Producer Price Index for the Net Output of Total
Manufacturing Industries was 144.7 (December 1984=100).  For the 12 months
ended December 2004, prices received by the manufacturing sector increased
5.1 percent, compared with a 2.8-percent advance in 2003.

Services.  Among services industries in December, prices received by the
industry for investment banking and securities dealing edged down 0.2
percent, after rising 1.9 percent in the preceding month.  The industry
indexes for direct life insurance carriers, long distance general freight
trucking (truckload), hotels (except casino hotels) and motels, temporary
help services, lessors of nonresidential buildings (except miniwarehouse),
and television broadcasting also turned down, following increases in
November.  Prices received by the general medical and surgical hospitals
industry rose at a slower rate than they did in the previous month.  By
contrast, the industry group index for scheduled passenger air
transportation moved up 1.3 percent in December, compared with a 1.2-
percent decline in the prior month.  Prices received by the industries for
employee leasing services, local general freight trucking, and residential
property managers also turned up, while the industry indexes for portfolio
management and scheduled freight air transportation increased more than
they did in November.

                                   *****
Producer Price Index data for January 2005 are scheduled to be released on
Friday, February 18, 2005, at 8:30 a.m. (EST).


Technical Note

               Brief Explanation of Producer Prices Indexes

     The Producer Price Index (PPI) of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 
is a family of indexes that measure the average change over time in 
the prices received by domestic producers of goods and services.  PPIs
measure price change from the perspective of the seller.  This contrasts
with other measures, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  CPIs measure
price change from the purchaser's perspective.  Sellers' and purchasers'
prices can differ due to government subsidies, sales and excise taxes, and
distribution costs.

     More than 8,000 PPIs for individual products and groups of products
are released each month.  PPIs are available for the products of virtually
every industry in the mining and manufacturing sectors of the U.S. economy.
New PPIs are gradually being introduced for the products of industries in
the trade, finance, and services sectors of the economy.

     More than 100,000 price quotations per month are organized into three
sets of PPIs:  (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 organizes products by class of buyer and degree of
fabrication.  The commodity structure 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.
                                     
                        Stage-of-Processing Indexes
     
     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, as well as 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.
                                     
                             Commodity Indexes

     The commodity classification structure of the PPI organizes products
by similarity of end use or material composition, disregarding industry of
origin.  Fifteen major commodity groupings (2-digit commodity codes) make
up the All Commodities Index. Each major commodity grouping includes (in
descending order of aggregation) subgroups (3-digit), product classes (4-
digit), subproduct classes (6-digit), and individual items (8-digit).
Nearly all 8-digit commodities under the traditional commodity coding
system are now derived from corresponding industry-classified product
indexes.  In such instances, movements in the traditional commodity price
indexes and corresponding percent changes will be virtually identical to
their industry-based counterparts, even if their index levels differ.
                                     
                     Industry Net-Output Price Indexes
                                     
     PPIs for the net output of industries and their products are grouped
according to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
Prior to the release of January 2004, industry-based PPIs were published
according to the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system.  Industry
price indexes are compatible with other economic time series organized by
industry, such as data on employment, wages, and productivity.  Table 5 of
the PPI Detailed Report includes data for NAICS industries and industry
groups (3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-digit codes); Census product classes (7- and 
8-digits), products (9-digits), and more detailed subproducts (11-digits); 
and, for some industries, indexes for other sources of revenue.

     Indexes may represent one of three kinds of product indexes.  Every
industry has primary product indexes to show changes in prices received by
establishments classified in the industry for products made primarily, but
not necessarily exclusively, by that industry.  The industry classification
of an establishment is determined by which products comprise a plurality of
its total shipment value.  In addition, most industries have secondary
product indexes that show changes in prices received by establishments
classified in the industry for products chiefly made in some other
industry.  Finally, some industries have miscellaneous receipts indexes to
show price changes in other sources of revenue received by establishments
within the industry that are not derived from sales of their products, for
example, resales of purchased materials, or revenues from parking lots
owned by a manufacturing plant.
                                     
                              Data Collection

     PPIs 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.  The BLS
strongly encourages cooperating companies to supply actual transaction
prices at the time of shipment to minimize the use of list prices.  Prices
submitted by survey respondents are effective on the Tuesday of the week
containing the 13th day of the month.  This survey is conducted primarily
through the mail.

     Price data are provided on a voluntary and confidential basis; only
sworn BLS employees are allowed access to individual company price reports.
BLS publishes price indexes instead of unit dollar prices.  All PPIs are
subject to revision 4 months after original publication to reflect the
availability of late reports and corrections by respondents.

     BLS periodically updates the PPI sample of survey respondents to
better reflect current conditions when the structure, membership,
technology, or product mix of an industry shifts significantly and to
spread reporting burden among smaller firms.  Results of these resampling
efforts are incorporated into the PPI with the release of data for January
and July.

     As part of an ongoing effort to expand coverage to sectors of the
economy other than mining and manufacturing, an increasing number of
service sector industries have been introduced into the PPI.  The following
list of recently introduced industries includes the month and year in which
an article describing the industry's content appeared in the PPI Detailed
Report.

                                                                   PPI
                                                                   Detailed
                      Title                              Code      Report
                                                                   Issue
                                                         SIC             
Wireless Telecommunications..............................4812     July 1999
Telephone Communications, Except Radio Telephone.........4813     July 1995
Television Broadcasting..................................4833     July 2002
Grocery Stores...........................................5411     July 2000
Meat and Fish (Seafood) Markets..........................5421     July 2000
Fruit and Vegetable Markets..............................5431     July 2000
Candy, Nut, and Confectionery Stores.....................5441     July 2000
Retail Bakeries..........................................5461     July 2000
Miscellaneous Food Stores................................5499     July 2000
New Car Dealers..........................................5511     July 2000
Gasoline Service Stations................................5541     January 2002
Boat Dealers.............................................5551     January 2002
Recreational Vehicle Dealers.............................5561     January 2002
Miscellaneous Retail.....................................59       January 2001
Security Brokers, Dealers, and Investment Bankers........6211     January 2001
Investment Advice........................................6282     January 2003
Life Insurance Carriers..................................6311     January 1999
Property and Casualty Insurance..........................6331     July 1998
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages........................6412     January 2003
Operators and Lessors of Nonresidential Buildings........6512     January 1996
Real Estate Agents and Managers..........................6531     January 1996
Prepackaged Software.....................................7372     January 1998
Data Processing Services.................................7374     January 2002
Home Health Care Services................................8082     January 1997
Legal Services...........................................8111     January 1997
Engineering Design, Analysis, and Consulting Services....8711     January 1997
Architectural Design, Analysis, and Consulting Services..8712     January 1997
Premiums for Property and Casualty Insurance.............9331     July 1998
                                                         
                                                        NAICS            
Furniture and Home Furnishings Stores....................442      January 2004
Electronics and Appliance Stores.........................443      January 2004
Building Material and Garden Equipment and Supplies 
Dealers..................................................444      January 2004
Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores.................448      January 2004
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book, and Music Stores............451      January 2004
General Merchandise Stores...............................452      January 2004
Miscellaneous Store Retailers............................453      January 2004
Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers.............524114   July 2004 

                                  Weights

     Weights for most traditional commodity groupings of the PPI, as well
as weights for commodity-based aggregate indexes calculated using
traditional commodity groupings, such as stage-of-processing indexes,
currently reflect 1997 values of shipments as reported in the Census of
Manufactures and other sources.  From January 1996 through December 2001,
PPI weights were derived from 1992 shipment values.  Industry indexes also
are now calculated with 1997 net output weights.  This periodic update of
the value weights used to calculate the PPI is done to more accurately
reflect changes in production and marketing patterns in the economy.  Net
output values of shipments are used as weights for industry indexes.  Net
output values refer to the value of shipments from establishments within
the industry to buyers outside the 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 PPI for All
Commodities, 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.
                                     
                        Price Index Reference Base
                                     
     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.  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 previously published percent changes for affected
PPI series.  (See "Calculating Index Changes," below.)  The 1982 reference
base is not used for commodity indexes with a base later than December 1981
or for industry net output indexes and their products.

     For further information on the underlying concepts and methodology of
the Producer Price Index, see chapter 14, "Producer Prices," in BLS Handbook
of Methods (April  1997), Bulletin 2490.  This document can be downloaded 
from the BLS Web site at (http://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch14_itc.htm), 
and reprints are available on request.
                                     
                         Calculating Index Changes
                                     
     Each PPI measures price changes from a reference period which equals
100.0.  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
also can be expressed in dollars, as follows:  Prices received by domestic
producers of a sample of finished goods have risen from $100 in 1982 to
$105.50.  Likewise, a current index of 90.0 would indicate that prices
received by producers of finished goods are 10 percent lower than they were
in 1982.

     Movements of price indexes from one month to another are usually
expressed as percent changes, rather than as changes in index points.
Index point changes are affected by the level of the index in relation to
its base period, whereas percent changes are not.  The following example
shows the computation of index point and percent changes.
     
     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
                                     
                                     
                  Seasonally Adjusted and Unadjusted Data

     Because price data are used for different purposes by different
groups, BLS publishes seasonally adjusted and unadjusted changes each
month.  Seasonally adjusted data are preferred for analyzing general price
trends in the economy, because these data 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 that 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 when 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 the BLS.)

     In 1998, the PPI implemented the X-12-ARIMA Seasonal Adjustment
Method; prior to that year the PPI employed the X-11 method.  Each year,
the seasonal status of most commodity indexes is re-evaluated to reflect
more recent price behavior.  Industry net output indexes are not seasonally
adjusted.  For time series that exhibit seasonal pricing patterns, new
seasonal factors are estimated and applied to the unadjusted data for the
previous 5 years.  These updated seasonally adjusted indexes replace the
most recent 5 years of seasonal data.

     Seasonal factors may be applied to series using either a direct or
aggregative method.  Generally, commodity indexes are seasonally adjusted
using direct seasonal adjustment, which produces a more complete
elimination of seasonal movements than the aggregative method.  However,
the direct seasonal adjustment process may not yield figures that possess
additive consistency.  Thus, a seasonally adjusted index for a broad
category that is directly adjusted may not be logically consistent with all
seasonally adjusted indexes for its components.  Seasonal movements for
stage-of-processing indexes are derived indirectly through an aggregative
method that combines movements of a wide variety of subproduct class (6-
digit) series.

     Seasonally adjusted indexes can become problematic when previously
stable and predictable price patterns abruptly change.  If the new pattern
persists, the seasonal adjustment method will eventually reflect it
adequately; if these patterns keep shifting, however, seasonally adjusted
data will become chronically troublesome.  This problem occurs relatively
infrequently for farm and food-related products but has more often affected
manufactured products such as automobiles and steel.

     Since January 1988, the PPI has used Intervention Analysis Seasonal
Adjustment methods to enhance the calculation of seasonal factors.  With
this technique, outlier values that may distort the seasonal pattern are
removed from the data prior to applying the standard seasonal factor
estimation procedure.  For example, a possible economic cause for large
price movements for petroleum-based products might have been the Persian
Gulf War.  In this case, intervention techniques allowed for better
estimates of seasonally adjusted data.  On the whole, very few series have
required intervention.  Out of nearly 900 seasonally adjusted series, only
16 interventions were performed in 1997.

     For more information relating to seasonal adjustment methods, see (1)
"Appendix A: Seasonal Adjustment Methodology at BLS," in the BLS Handbook
of Methods (April 1997), Bulletin 2490 and (2) "Summary of Changes to the
PPI's Seasonal Adjustment Methodology" in the January 1995 issue of
Producer Price Indexes.

                Producer Price Index Data Via the Internet

     In 1995, the BLS began posting PPI series, news releases, and
technical information to both a World Wide Web (WWW) site and a file
transfer protocol (FTP) site.  During the years following the introduction
of PPI Internet services, usage of these sites eclipsed more traditional
methods of data dissemination, such as subscriptions to the PPI Detailed
Report.  There were more than 1.6 million accesses of PPI series over the
Internet during the 12 months ended December 31, 2003.

                 Retrieving PPI data from the PPI Website

     PPI data can be obtained from the WWW address (http://www.bls.gov/ppi).
Scrolling down the page to the "Get Detailed Statistics" header reveals 
the following 5 methods of data retrieval:

     Most Requested Series is a form-based application that allows the
user to quickly obtain PPI time series data by selecting from two separate
lists (commodity and industry) of the most commonly requested time series,
including the All Commodities Index and the stage-of-processing indexes
(for example, Finished Goods).  Within each list, any one-or all-of the
time series shown can be selected.  A user can modify the date range and
output options after executing the query, using the reformat button above
the data output table.

     Create Customized Tables is a form-based query application designed for
users unfamiliar with the PPI coding structure.  It guides a user through
the PPI classification system by listing index titles and does not require
knowledge of commodity or industry codes.  Data retrieved are based on a
query formulated by selecting data characteristics from lists provided.
Two options are available to create customized tables, depending on a
user's browser capability.  The one-screen option is a JavaScript
application that uses a single screen to guide a user through the available
time series data.  The second option is a multiple screen, nonJava-based
application.  Both methods allow a user to browse the PPI coding structure
and select multiple series codes.  Using the one-screen option, users can
modify the date range and output options after executing the query using
the reformat button above the data output table.

     Series Report is a form-based application that uses formatted PPI time
series identifiers (commodity or industry codes) as input in extracting
data according to a specified set of date ranges and output options.  This
application provides the most efficient path for those users who are
familiar with the format of PPI time series identifiers.  Up to 300 indexes
can be extracted at one time.

     There are three basic formats for creating a unique PPI time series
identifier.  For commodity and stage-of-processing indexes, enter a "wpu"
prefix (not seasonally adjusted) or a "wps" prefix (seasonally adjusted) in
combination with a commodity-based code to create a series identifier.
  
  Commodity code      Will provide data for:
  wps063              Drugs and pharmaceuticals, seasonally adjusted
  wpu063803           Pharmaceutical preparations, cardiovascular system
  wpusop3000          Finished goods, not seasonally adjusted
  
     For a current industry-based price index organized according to the North
American Industry Classification System (NAICS), enter the prefix "pcu"
followed by the industry-product code.  The series identifier for products
primary to an industry include 12 numeric digits, the six-digit industry
code is repeated, and up to seven additional digits of product detail.
Dashes are used as place holders for higher-level industry group codes.

  Industry-product code,   Will provide data for:
  Current NAICS series
  pcu325---325---          Chemical manufacturing, not seasonally adjusted
  pcu336110336110          Automobile and light duty motor vehicle manufacturing
  pcu621111621111411       Offices of physicians, one and two physician practices 
                           and single specialty group practices, general/family 
                           practices
                    
     To identify a discontinued industry-product code based on the Standard
Industrial Classification (SIC), enter a "pdu" prefix and "#" between the
fourth and fifth characters of the product code.  A series identifier for
the discontinued dataset uses underscores as placeholders to complete a
reference to an SIC industry group code of less than four digits.  (All PPI
industry-based indexes organized by SIC were discontinued with the
introduction of the NAICS.)  In all cases, no spaces are permitted.
  
  Industry-product code,   Will provide data for:
  Discontinued SIC series
  pdu28__#                 Chemicals and allied products, not seasonally adjusted
  pdu331_#                 Blast furnaces, steel works, and rolling and
                           finishing mills, not seasonally adjusted
  pdu3711#111              Passenger cars
  
     Flat Files and the FTP server are best suited for those users requiring
access to either a large volume of time series data or other PPI-related
documentation (such as, seasonal factor and relative importance tables).
The FTP site can be accessed at (ftp://ftp.bls.gov) or directly from the
links on the "Get Detailed Statistics" page or the PPI homepage.  Data and
documentation available for download include:

 Data/Documentation          Directory:
 NAICS Current Series        /pub/time.series/pc
 SIC Discontinued Series     /pub/time.series/pd
 Commodity Series            /pub/time.series/wp
 Special Requests            /pub/special.requests/ppi
 Latest News Release         /pub/news.release/ppi.txt

     The FTP site maintains files to help with searches and downloads.  
These files are centrally located in the /pub/doc directory.  Within this
directory, go to the overview.txt file for an overview relating to all BLS
data available through the FTP site.  For commodity-based PPI data (which
appear in tables 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 8 of the PPI monthly detailed report
and tables 1, 2, 3, and 5 of the monthly news release), the program help
file is wp.txt.  For current industry-based PPI data based on the NAICS
(which appear in tables 4, 5, and 9 of the monthly PPI report and table 4
of the monthly news release), the file is pc.txt.  For industry-based SIC
time series that have been discontinued, go to pd.txt.  (These and other
help files are also maintained within each of the five directories listed
above.)

                         Other Sources of PPI Data

     PPI data can also be accessed via the BLS homepage
(http://www.bls.gov).  After clicking the "Get Detailed Statistics" link at
the top of the homepage a chart appears listing all of the available BLS
programs.  The following four methods are available for PPI data:  Most
requested statistics, create customized tables (one screen or multiple
screens), and flat files.  Additional sources of BLS data also are 
accessible from this page including:  Economic news releases, series
report, and economy at a glance.

                          Additional information

     The PPI homepage (http://www.bls.gov/ppi) contains additional
information regarding PPI data and methodology.  The top section of the
homepage provides PPI news releases, both current and archived, as well as
general PPI information.  The "Tables Created by BLS" section found beneath
the statistics section provides relative importance and seasonal factor
tables.  The remaining sections offer special notices and publications
pertaining to PPI methodology and applications.

     For questions or comments regarding PPI data classification,
methodology, or data availability on the Internet, call or e-mail the
Section of Index Analysis and Public Information directly at (202) 691-7705
or ppi-info@bls.gov.  Data also can be obtained by calling the national fax-
on-demand service at (202) 691-6325. This service enables customers to
request faxes of BLS data 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


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|                       |Dec. 2004 from:|                          
                                                 |          |_______________________|_______________|__________________________
                                                 |   Dec.   |       |       |       |       |       |       |         |        
                                                 |          |Aug.   |Nov.   |Dec.   |  Dec. | Nov.  |Sept.to|Oct.  to |Nov.  to
                                                 |   2003 1/|2004 2/|2004 2/|2004 2/|  2003 | 2004  |  Oct. |   Nov.  |  Dec.  
_________________________________________________|__________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_________|________
                                                 |                                                                             
Finished goods...................................|  100.000   148.5   151.7   150.4     4.1   -0.9      1.7      0.5    -0.7   
  Finished consumer goods........................|   74.422   151.8   155.3   153.5     4.6   -1.2      2.1       .6     -.9   
    Finished consumer foods......................|   21.487   152.2   154.5   154.5     2.8    0        1.6       .4      .1   
      Crude......................................|    1.731   127.3   158.4   145.6    -3.6   -8.1     14.1      -.6    -8.9   
      Processed..................................|   19.756   154.3   154.0   155.2     3.4     .8       .7       .5      .8   
    Finished consumer goods, excluding foods.....|   52.934   151.3   155.2   152.8     5.4   -1.5      2.3       .7    -1.3   
      Nondurable goods less foods................|   36.883   157.9   161.8   158.2     6.7   -2.2      3.2       .9    -1.8   
      Durable goods..............................|   16.051   133.6   137.5   137.3     2.2    -.1       .4       .3      .1   
  Capital equipment..............................|   25.578   141.2   143.4   143.6     2.4     .1       .4       .2      .1   
    Manufacturing industries.....................|    7.016   142.7   143.8   144.0     2.7     .1       .3       .1      .2   
    Nonmanufacturing industries..................|   18.562   140.5   143.3   143.4     2.3     .1       .5       .1      .2   
                                                 |                                                                             
Intermediate materials, supplies, and components.|  100.000   144.8   147.2   146.7     9.1    -.3       .9       .8     -.3   
  Materials and components for manufacturing.....|   46.892   139.4   141.8   142.8     9.1     .7       .4       .4      .7   
    Materials for food manufacturing.............|    2.948   144.9   144.0   145.1     3.1     .8       .1       .4     1.2   
    Materials for nondurable manufacturing.......|   14.491   149.8   154.9   156.8    13.7    1.2       .9      1.0     1.1   
    Materials for durable manufacturing..........|    9.515   150.3   153.3   154.8    18.0    1.0      -.3       .5     1.0   
    Components for manufacturing.................|   19.939   127.7   128.4   128.6     2.2     .2       .2       .1      .2   
  Materials and components for construction......|   12.827   169.8   170.6   171.2    10.0     .4      -.1      0        .4   
  Processed fuels and lubricants.................|   16.978   128.5   133.8   127.7    14.3   -4.6      4.1      2.6    -4.4   
    Manufacturing industries ....................|    6.840   128.0   132.6   130.9    13.1   -1.3      1.0      3.5    -1.7   
    Nonmanufacturing industries..................|   10.138   128.8   134.7   125.6    15.0   -6.8      6.1      2.0    -6.0   
  Containers.....................................|    3.164   162.0   164.3   165.2     7.6     .5      1.0       .1      .5   
  Supplies.......................................|   20.138   147.6   147.9   148.6     4.1     .5       .1       .1      .4   
    Manufacturing industries.....................|    4.389   149.6   151.4   152.2     3.7     .5       .7       .1      .5   
    Nonmanufacturing industries..................|   15.750   145.8   145.9   146.5     4.2     .4      0         .1      .4   
      Feeds......................................|    1.238   116.8   101.6   102.0   -14.2     .4     -7.0     -1.5      .3   
      Other supplies.............................|   14.512   149.7   151.2   151.9     5.8     .5       .5       .2      .4   
                                                 |                                                                             
Crude materials for further processing...........|  100.000   162.2   171.9   166.5    18.0   -3.1      4.3      8.7    -2.9   
  Foodstuffs and feedstuffs......................|   39.856   124.8   119.3   121.6    -2.5    1.9      -.8      1.8     2.9   
  Nonfood materials..............................|   60.144   186.6   208.1   196.6    31.5   -5.5      7.1     12.3    -5.7   
    Nonfood materials except fuel 3/.............|   33.348   158.9   164.1   154.6    23.7   -5.8     10.8     -3.6    -6.0   
      Manufacturing 3/...........................|   32.735   146.8   151.6   142.7    24.0   -5.9     10.9     -3.6    -6.1   
      Construction...............................|    0.613   193.9   195.0   193.3     4.7    -.9       .3       .2     -.9   
    Crude fuel 4/................................|   26.796   214.0   261.5   247.7    41.3   -5.3      1.9     37.2    -5.3   
      Manufacturing industries...................|    2.406   202.9   246.8   234.1    40.3   -5.1      1.7     36.1    -5.1   
      Nonmanufacturing industries................|   24.390   218.9   267.7   253.5    41.4   -5.3      1.9     37.4    -5.3   
                                                 |                                                                             
               Special groupings                 |                                                                             
                                                 |                                                                             
Finished goods, excluding foods..................|5/ 78.513   147.3   150.7   149.1     4.4   -1.1      1.8       .5     -.9   
Intermediate materials less foods and feeds......|6/ 95.814   145.3   148.1   147.5     9.5    -.4      1.0       .7     -.4   
Intermediate foods and feeds.....................|6/  4.186   136.3   130.6   131.5    -1.9     .7     -1.9      0        .8   
Crude materials less agricultural products 3/ 7/.|8/ 58.184   190.9   213.3   201.1    33.1   -5.7      7.4     12.5    -5.8   
                                                 |                                                                             
Finished energy goods............................|5/ 15.868   115.0   120.3   114.5    13.4   -4.8      6.8      1.8    -4.0   
Finished goods less energy.......................|5/ 84.132   151.9   154.3   154.4     2.3     .1       .7       .3      .1   
Finished consumer goods less energy..............|5/ 58.554   156.6   159.1   159.1     2.3    0         .8       .3      .1   
                                                 |                                                                             
Finished goods less foods and energy.............|5/ 62.645   152.2   154.6   154.7     2.2     .1       .3       .2      .1   
Finished consumer goods less foods and energy....|5/ 37.066   159.6   162.2   162.2     2.0    0         .2       .2      .1   
Consumer nondurable goods less foods and energy..|5/ 21.015   180.8   182.0   182.2     1.8     .1       .2       .2      .1   
                                                 |                                                                             
Intermediate energy goods........................|6/ 17.379   127.1   132.6   127.2    14.7   -4.1      4.3      2.3    -3.8   
Intermediate materials less energy...............|6/ 82.621   147.5   149.2   149.9     7.8     .5       .1       .3      .5   
Intermediate materials less foods and energy.....|6/ 78.435   148.3   150.4   151.1     8.3     .5       .3       .4      .5   
                                                 |                                                                             
Crude energy materials 3/........................|8/ 39.753   181.9   210.1   194.7    37.3   -7.3      7.9     17.0    -7.3   
Crude materials less energy......................|8/ 60.248   144.6   142.3   143.2     5.1     .6      1.6      2.0     1.1   
Crude nonfood materials less energy 4/...........|8/ 20.391   200.8   207.0   204.3    20.1   -1.3      5.4      2.5    -1.7   
                                                 |                                                                             
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                                                                                               
  1/  Comprehensive relative importance figures are initially computed          4/  Excludes crude petroleum.                  
      after the publication of December indexes and are recalculated            5/  Percent of total finished goods.           
      after final December indexes are available.                               6/  Percent of total intermediate materials.   
  2/  The indexes for August 2004 have been recalculated to incorporate         7/  Formerly titled "Crude materials for       
      late reports and corrections by respondents.  All indexes                     further processing, excluding crude        
      are subject to revision 4 months after original publication.                  foodstuffs and feedstuffs, plant and       
  3/  Includes crude petroleum.                                                     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 |                                                       |                       |Dec. 2004 from:|                         
   code    |                      Grouping                         |_______________________|_______________|________________________ 
           |                                                       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |         
           |                                                       |Aug.   |Nov.   |Dec.   | Dec.  | Nov.  |Sept.to|Oct. to|Nov. to  
           |                                                       |2004 1/|2004 1/|2004 1/| 2003  | 2004  |  Oct. |  Nov. |  Dec.   
___________|_______________________________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|________ 
           |                                                       |                                                                 
           |FINISHED GOODS.........................................| 148.5   151.7   150.4     4.1   -0.9      1.7     0.5    -0.7   
           | FINISHED CONSUMER GOODS...............................| 151.8   155.3   153.5     4.6   -1.2      2.1      .6     -.9   
           |  FINISHED CONSUMER FOODS..............................| 152.2   154.5   154.5     2.8    0        1.6      .4      .1   
           |                                                       |                                                                 
01-11      |   Fresh fruits and melons 2/..........................|  97.5   107.3   115.9    16.1    8.0     11.3   -17.0     8.0   
01-13      |   Fresh and dry vegetables 2/.........................| 117.2   183.6   135.2   -13.8  -26.4     34.2     4.4   -26.4   
01-71-07   |   Eggs for fresh use (Dec. 1991=100)..................|  82.4    80.1    96.3   -29.4   20.2    -11.1    -4.8    23.6   
02-11      |   Bakery products 2/..................................| 196.3   197.5   197.4     1.4    -.1      -.1      .6     -.1   
02-13      |   Milled rice 2/......................................| 145.9   123.6   123.3    -1.0    -.2     -3.9     -.8     -.2   
02-14-02   |   Pasta products (June 1985=100) 2/...................| 128.5   127.2   127.3      .5     .1       .4      .2      .1   
02-21-01   |   Beef and veal 2/....................................| 138.3   138.7   144.1    -3.7    3.9      3.2    -1.6     3.9   
02-21-04   |   Pork................................................| 142.7   139.1   137.3    21.1   -1.3      4.9     3.5    -2.1   
02-22-03   |   Processed young chickens............................| 141.8   125.1   126.2     -.2     .9     -2.8     1.7     2.7   
02-22-06   |   Processed turkeys...................................| 110.1   111.3   110.5     9.4    -.7     -1.7    -1.7     1.7   
02-23      |   Finfish and shellfish...............................| 206.6   219.7   219.2    14.3    -.2      -.8     8.4     -.6   
02-3       |   Dairy products......................................| 153.9   154.5   157.4     9.1    1.9       .2     1.8     2.7   
02-4       |   Processed fruits and vegetables 2/..................| 134.6   137.3   138.1     3.0     .6      1.6      .4      .6   
02-55      |   Confectionery end products 2/.......................| 187.4   192.4   196.6     5.9    2.2       .5      .7     2.2   
02-62      |   Soft drinks 2/......................................| 156.8   158.2   158.7     3.7     .3      1.5     -.4      .3   
02-63-01   |   Roasted coffee 2/...................................| 129.7   129.9   129.9     1.6    0         .4      .1     0     
02-78      |   Shortening and cooking oils 2/......................| 196.6   184.0   179.6      .1   -2.4     -5.1     -.8    -2.4   
           |                                                       |                                                                 
           |  FINISHED CONSUMER GOODS EXCLUDING FOODS..............| 151.3   155.2   152.8     5.4   -1.5      2.3      .7    -1.3   
           |                                                       |                                                                 
02-61      |   Alcoholic beverages.................................| 153.1   153.2   153.0     1.2    -.1      -.3     0       -.3   
03-81-06   |   Women's, girls', & infants' apparel(Dec 2003=100) 2/|  99.5   100.3   100.3      .3    0         .1     -.1     0     
03-81-07   |   Men's and boys' apparel (Dec. 2003=100) 2/..........|  99.7   100.1    99.8     -.2    -.3       .6     0       -.3   
03-82      |   Textile housefurnishings 2/.........................| 123.4   123.4   123.3      .7    -.1       .2     0       -.1   
04-3       |   Footwear 2/.........................................| 146.2   146.6   146.6      .3    0        0        .2     0     
05-41      |   Residential electric power (Dec. 1990=100)..........| 123.9   121.4   121.6     2.4     .2      2.3     1.2      .5   
05-51      |   Residential gas (Dec. 1990=100).....................| 185.0   198.7   198.3    15.7    -.2      1.0     6.2    -1.6   
05-71      |   Gasoline............................................| 128.3   140.3   120.1    27.4  -14.4     17.3     -.7   -11.1   
05-73-02-01|   Home heating oil and distillates....................| 126.8   146.7   132.1    41.0  -10.0     17.9    -2.3    -8.0   
06-38      |   Pharmaceutical preparations (June 2001=100) 2/......| 112.6   113.3   113.6     4.1     .3      -.1      .3      .3   
06-71      |   Soaps and synthetic detergents 2/...................| 132.6   134.0   134.1     1.2     .1       .1     0        .1   
06-75      |   Cosmetics and other toilet preparations 2/..........| 140.2   140.5   141.2      .4     .5       .1     0        .5   
07-12      |   Tires, tubes, tread, etc 2/.........................| 102.9   103.3   103.6     5.0     .3       .3     0        .3   
09-15-01   |   Sanitary paper products 2/..........................| 148.9   150.9   150.9      .3    0         .5      .7     0     
09-31-01   |   Newspaper circulation 2/............................| 233.9   233.9   235.2     1.2     .6      0       0        .6   
09-32-01   |   Periodical circulation..............................| 223.1   223.1   222.2     1.6    -.4       .4      .2     -.9   
09-33      |   Book publishing.....................................| 253.1   256.8   259.2     4.6     .9      -.2     1.3      .4   
12-1       |   Household furniture.................................| 160.6   163.5   163.5     3.4    0         .3     1.1      .1   
12-3       |   Floor coverings 2/..................................| 138.8   143.3   143.0     6.7    -.2       .8     2.8     -.2   
12-4       |   Household appliances 2/.............................| 101.2   101.7   101.6     -.3    -.1       .2      .2     -.1   
12-5       |   Home electronic equipment 2/........................|  64.3    63.2    63.5    -5.5     .5      -.8     0        .5   
12-62      |   Household glassware.................................| 171.9   172.1   171.0     1.2    -.6       .2     0       -.5   
12-64      |   Household flatware 2/...............................| 145.4   145.4     (3)     (3)    (3)      0       0       (3)   
12-66      |   Lawn and garden equip., ex. tractors 2/.............| 134.8   135.4   135.7     1.3     .2      -.2      .5      .2   
14-11-01   |   Passenger cars......................................| 128.6   134.5   134.0     1.7    -.4     -1.3      .6     -.2   
15-11      |   Toys, games, and children's vehicles 2/.............| 125.9   125.9   125.9     1.0    0        -.2     0       0     
15-12      |   Sporting and athletic goods 2/......................| 123.6   124.8   123.9     1.6    -.7       .1     -.2     -.7   
15-2       |   Tobacco products 2/.................................| 433.0   434.9   435.2      .3     .1      0        .3      .1   
15-5       |   Mobile homes .......................................| 188.2   195.4   196.0    13.4     .3       .4      .5      .8   
15-94-02   |   Jewelry, platinum, & karat gold 2/..................| 134.7   136.7   137.5     2.3     .6       .5      .4      .6   
15-94-04   |   Costume jewelry and novelties 2/....................| 147.8   147.8   147.8     1.7    0        0       0       0     
           |                                                       |                                                                 
           | CAPITAL EQUIPMENT.....................................| 141.2   143.4   143.6     2.4     .1       .4      .2      .1   
           |                                                       |                                                                 
11-1       |   Agricultural machinery and equipment 2/.............| 165.9   168.7   170.8     5.4    1.2      1.5     -.1     1.2   
11-2       |   Construction machinery and equipment 2/.............| 159.1   162.8   162.8     6.0    0        2.7     -.5     0     
11-37      |   Metal cutting machine tools 2/......................| 151.9   152.1   155.0     2.8    1.9      -.4      .5     1.9   
11-38      |   Metal forming machine tools 2/......................| 172.7   172.7   173.1     3.2     .2       .2     0        .2   
11-39      |   Tools, dies, jigs, fixtures, and ind. molds 2/......| 139.3   139.2   140.0      .5     .6       .1     -.2      .6   
11-41      |   Pumps, compressors, and equipment...................| 168.2   170.7   171.1     4.8     .2       .4      .9      .4   
11-44      |   Industrial material handling equipment 2/...........| 144.5   146.0   146.6     6.1     .4       .6      .1      .4   
11-51      |   Electronic computers (Dec. 1998=100) 2/.............|  29.6    28.0    27.9   -12.3    -.4      -.3    -3.1     -.4   
11-62      |   Textile machinery 2/................................| 157.3   159.1   158.6      .6    -.3      -.6     -.1     -.3   
11-64      |   Paper industries machinery (June 1982=100) 2/.......| 174.1   174.8   175.1     2.8     .2       .4     -.1      .2   
11-65      |   Printing trades machinery 2/........................| 143.4   143.8   143.9      .3     .1      -.1     0        .1   
11-74      |   Transformers and power regulators 2/................| 135.9   141.0   146.0    10.5    3.5      2.3      .8     3.5   
11-76      |   Communication & related equip. (Dec. 1985=100) 2/...| 103.2   103.7   102.8    -2.3    -.9       .1     0       -.9   
11-79-05   |   X-ray and electromedical equipment 2/...............|  96.8    96.7    97.3    -2.5     .6       .1     -.2      .6   
11-91      |   Oil field and gas field machinery ..................| 143.8   144.9   146.1     3.7     .8      0       1.0      .9   
11-92      |   Mining machinery and equipment 2/...................| 164.1   166.9   169.7     8.1    1.7      1.3      .2     1.7   
11-93      |   Office and store machines and equipment 2/..........| 114.0   115.1   114.9     1.4    -.2      1.1      .1     -.2   
12-2       |   Commercial furniture 2/.............................| 167.3   168.1   168.9     3.7     .5       .2      .6      .5   
14-11-05   |   Light motor trucks..................................| 145.7   156.1   155.4     1.0    -.4      2.7     -.5     -.1   
14-11-06   |   Heavy motor trucks 2/...............................| 156.1   155.6   155.7     2.3     .1      -.7     -.4      .1   
14-14      |   Truck trailers 2/...................................| 149.1   154.0   153.2     9.7    -.5       .7     2.0     -.5   
14-21-02   |   Civilian aircraft (Dec. 1985=100)...................| 194.0   197.0   197.8     7.1     .4       .9      .6      .4   
14-31      |   Ships (Dec. 1985=100) 2/............................| 172.1   172.5   173.0     6.2     .3       .1    -1.8      .3   
14-4       |   Railroad equipment 2/...............................| 143.5   145.1   150.7     9.8    3.9       .3     -.3     3.9   
           |                                                       |                                                                 
           |INTERMEDIATE MATERIALS, SUPPLIES, AND COMPONENTS.......| 144.8   147.2   146.7     9.1    -.3       .9      .8     -.3   
           |                                                       |                                                                 
           | INTERMEDIATE FOODS AND FEEDS..........................| 136.3   130.6   131.5    -1.9     .7     -1.9     0        .8   
           |                                                       |                                                                 
02-12-03   |   Flour 2/............................................| 123.9   134.1   131.6     4.9   -1.9     -1.7     3.3    -1.9   
02-53      |   Refined sugar and byproducts 2/.....................| 121.4   121.3   120.6     -.4    -.6       .4     -.4     -.6   
02-54      |   Confectionery materials 2/..........................| 126.1   125.8   125.5     1.5    -.2      -.2     1.1     -.2   
02-72      |   Crude vegetable oils 2/.............................|   (3)     (3)     (3)     (3)    (3)      (3)     (3)     (3)   
02-9       |   Prepared animal feeds 2/............................| 123.1   110.4   110.8   -10.1     .4     -5.7    -1.0      .4   
           |                                                       |                                                                 
           | INTERMEDIATE MATERIALS LESS FOODS AND FEEDS...........| 145.3   148.1   147.5     9.5    -.4      1.0      .7     -.4   
           |                                                       |                                                                 
03-1       |   Synthetic fibers 2/.................................| 106.9   107.5   107.9     2.1     .4       .4     0        .4   
03-2       |   Processed yarns and threads 2/......................| 109.4   109.7   109.2     3.9    -.5       .5     -.3     -.5   
03-3       |   Gray fabrics 2/.....................................| 112.5   112.8   112.3      .4    -.4       .3     -.9     -.4   
03-4       |   Finished fabrics 2/.................................| 121.0   122.9   121.9     1.1    -.8       .2     1.5     -.8   
03-83-03   |   Industrial textile products 2/......................| 132.0   132.5   133.1     2.3     .5       .2      .2      .5   
04-2       |   Leather 2/..........................................| 220.0   220.3   221.1      .9     .4       .1      .3      .4   
05-32      |   Liquefied petroleum gas 2/..........................| 214.0   240.1   206.5    28.0  -14.0     14.7     4.2   -14.0   
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
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 |                                                       |                       |Dec. 2004 from:|                         
   code    |                      Grouping                         |_______________________|_______________|________________________ 
           |                                                       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |         
           |                                                       |Aug.   |Nov.   |Dec.   | Dec.  | Nov.  |Sept.to|Oct. to|Nov. to  
           |                                                       |2004 1/|2004 1/|2004 1/| 2003  | 2004  |  Oct. |  Nov. |  Dec.   
___________|_______________________________________________________|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|________ 
           |                                                       |                                                                 
           | INTERMEDIATE MATERIALS LESS FOODS AND FEEDS           |                                                                 
           |   -Continued..........................................|                                                                 
05-42      |   Commercial electric power...........................| 149.6   142.0   143.0     3.4    0.7     -0.8     2.9     1.0   
05-43      |   Industrial electric power...........................| 154.0   146.5   147.9     3.5    1.0     -2.4     3.5     1.5   
05-52      |   Commercial natural gas (Dec. 1990=100)..............| 197.1   212.1   212.4    17.3     .1      1.8     3.6    -1.1   
05-53      |   Industrial natural gas (Dec. 1990=100)..............| 202.3   220.6   222.6    20.1     .9      -.6     5.0    -1.8   
05-54      |   Natural gas to electric utilities (Dec. 1990=100)...| 170.2   182.3   174.2    12.2   -4.4     -4.0     1.9   -10.5   
05-72-03   |   Jet fuels...........................................| 128.6   143.7   110.1    27.1  -23.4     17.2     4.4   -23.0   
05-73-03   |   No. 2 Diesel fuel...................................| 135.1   159.7   135.3    37.9  -15.3     21.4    -1.8    -8.3   
05-74      |   Residual fuels 2/...................................|  99.7   108.8   105.3     1.0   -3.2       .7     7.4    -3.2   
06-1       |   Industrial chemicals 2/.............................| 168.1   177.9   177.3    23.9    -.3       .9     1.9     -.3   
06-21      |   Prepared paint......................................| 176.1   179.4   179.5     4.1     .1      1.5      .6      .2   
06-22      |   Paint materials 2/..................................| 180.5   185.4   188.6    10.0    1.7      1.6     1.0     1.7   
06-31      |   Medicinal and botanical chemicals 2/................| 134.3   134.1   134.2    -1.6     .1      -.2      .1      .1   
06-4       |   Fats and oils, inedible.............................| 144.2   125.3   128.6   -15.3    2.6     -9.9    -6.3    -1.9   
06-51      |   Mixed fertilizers...................................| 127.5   132.5   133.3    10.2     .6      2.6      .8      .7   
06-52-01   |   Nitrogenates........................................| 170.5   180.8   182.6    18.5    1.0      3.5     2.1    -1.1   
06-52-02   |   Phosphates 2/.......................................| 118.4   125.6   126.4    13.2     .6      1.0     3.1      .6   
06-53      |   Other agricultural chemicals 2/.....................| 149.2   148.9   149.4      .7     .3       .7     -.1      .3   
06-6       |   Plastic resins and materials 2/.....................| 164.9   178.2   186.2    29.3    4.5      1.9     4.1     4.5   
07-11-02   |   Synthetic rubber 2/.................................| 133.7   138.8   141.6    12.5    2.0       .4     1.7     2.0   
07-21      |   Plastic construction products ......................| 146.0   149.3   148.1     6.7    -.8       .5      .6     -.3   
07-22      |   Unsupported plastic film, sheet, & other shapes 2/..| 148.7   152.8   156.3     9.1    2.3      2.4    -1.6     2.3   
07-26      |   Plastic parts and components for manufacturing 2/...| 116.5   117.3   117.9      .9     .5      -.6      .9      .5   
08-11      |   Softwood lumber 2/..................................| 231.7   194.3   195.6     9.6     .7     -9.4    -8.0      .7   
08-12      |   Hardwood lumber 2/..................................| 201.5   200.7   199.0     2.8    -.8      -.4     -.1     -.8   
08-2       |   Millwork............................................| 194.9   195.6   195.9     6.5     .2       .1      .3      .3   
08-3       |   Plywood 2/..........................................| 203.1   174.1   185.5    -3.4    6.5     -9.2    -8.0     6.5   
09-11      |   Woodpulp 2/.........................................| 137.3   135.4   134.1     7.2   -1.0      1.1    -2.9    -1.0   
09-13      |   Paper 2/............................................| 150.2   153.5   156.0     7.0    1.6       .6      .7     1.6   
09-14      |   Paperboard 2/.......................................| 178.5   180.0   179.4    12.3    -.3      -.3      .2     -.3   
09-15-03   |   Paper boxes and containers 2/.......................| 181.8   184.3   184.0     7.1    -.2      1.5     -.1     -.2   
09-2       |   Building paper and board 2/.........................| 194.2   163.2   175.1    -1.7    7.3    -12.8    -8.3     7.3   
09-37      |   Commercial printing (June 1982=100) 2/..............| 159.2   160.5   160.4     1.2    -.1      -.1      .1     -.1   
10-15      |   Foundry and forge shop products.....................| 145.0   149.8   150.1     8.5     .2      1.2     1.2      .2   
10-17      |   Steel mill products.................................| 157.9   165.2   166.1    48.3     .5      1.7     1.6      .9   
10-22      |   Primary nonferrous metals 2/........................| 132.9   141.7   144.0    24.8    1.6      7.6     -.8     1.6   
10-25-01   |   Aluminum mill shapes 2/.............................| 150.4   154.0   157.2     9.9    2.1     -6.6      .2     2.1   
10-25-02   |   Copper and brass mill shapes 2/.....................| 200.9   206.9   212.1    29.3    2.5      4.1    -1.6     2.5   
10-26      |   Nonferrous wire and cable 2/........................| 153.1   156.3   158.7    13.4    1.5      2.7     1.0     1.5   
10-3       |   Metal containers 2/.................................| 116.9   118.3   120.3     9.1    1.7       .2      .3     1.7   
10-4       |   Hardware 2/.........................................| 161.9   163.4   163.5     4.1     .1       .5      .1      .1   
10-5       |   Plumbing fixtures and brass fittings................| 189.8   191.7   192.0     4.3     .2       .1      .9      .2   
10-6       |   Heating equipment 2/................................| 170.5   172.7   173.5     5.9     .5       .7     -.1      .5   
10-7       |   Fabricated structural metal products 2/.............| 168.6   171.7   172.1    17.7     .2       .5      .6      .2   
10-88      |   Fabricated ferrous wire products (June 1982=100) 2/.| 155.3   155.2   156.1    17.0     .6     -1.3     -.3      .6   
10-89      |   Other misc. metal products 2/.......................| 133.2   134.7   134.9     5.8     .1       .2     0        .1   
11-45      |   Mechanical power transmission equipment.............| 181.4   182.1   182.3     5.2     .1      0        .2     -.1   
11-48      |   Air conditioning and refrigeration equipment 2/.....| 139.9   141.3   141.9     3.3     .4       .1      .6      .4   
11-49-02   |   Metal valves, ex.fluid power (Dec. 1982=100)........| 178.9   179.4   179.5     5.6     .1      -.1      .2      .2   
11-49-05   |   Ball and roller bearings 2/.........................| 178.0   178.9   179.5     5.0     .3      0        .3      .3   
11-71      |   Wiring devices 2/...................................| 173.9   171.9   172.0    12.3     .1      -.1    -1.9      .1   
11-73      |   Motors, generators, motor generator sets............| 150.9   151.7   152.9     3.7     .8       .1      .8      .7   
11-75      |   Switchgear, switchboard, etc., equipment............| 164.8   164.5   165.5     3.4     .6      -.5     -.7      .7   
11-78      |   Electronic components and accessories 2/............|  88.3    88.5    88.3    -1.6    -.2       .2     -.2     -.2   
11-94      |   Internal combustion engines 2/......................| 145.8   146.0   146.2      .7     .1      -.1      .2      .1   
11-95      |   Machine shop products 2/............................| 145.7   146.8   146.6     3.8    -.1       .2      .5     -.1   
13-11      |   Flat glass 2/.......................................| 108.0   108.2   108.7    -1.6     .5      -.3      .2      .5   
13-22      |   Cement..............................................| 159.2   161.5   162.1     7.5     .4       .1      .5      .9   
13-3       |   Concrete products...................................| 162.1   166.0   166.8     7.8     .5       .4      .7      .4   
13-6       |   Asphalt felts and coatings..........................| 117.7   122.2   123.5     6.1    1.1      -.5     3.3     2.0   
13-7       |   Gypsum products 2/..................................| 210.8   211.7   212.2    20.1     .2      -.7     -.4      .2   
13-8       |   Glass containers 2/.................................| 144.7   145.2   145.2     3.1    0        0       0       0     
14-12      |   Motor vehicle parts 2/..............................| 112.1   112.3   112.6      .9     .3       .1      .1      .3   
14-23      |   Aircraft engines & engine parts (Dec. 1985=100).....| 163.7   163.7   163.7     4.5    0         .2     -.1      .1   
14-25      |   Aircraft parts & aux.equip.,nec (June 1985=100) 2/..| 151.9   152.0   152.0     1.3    0         .9     -.1     0     
15-42      |   Photographic supplies 2/............................| 114.1   114.8   114.8    -1.3    0        0       0       0     
15-6       |   Medical/surgical/personal aid devices 2/............| 158.5   158.3   159.6     2.4     .8       .1      .2      .8   
           |                                                       |                                                                 
           | CRUDE MATERIALS FOR FURTHER PROCESSING................| 162.2   171.9   166.5    18.0   -3.1      4.3     8.7    -2.9   
           |                                                       |                                                                 
           |  CRUDE FOODSTUFFS AND FEEDSTUFFS......................| 124.8   119.3   121.6    -2.5    1.9      -.8     1.8     2.9   
           |                                                       |                                                                 
01-21      |   Wheat 2/............................................|  95.3   108.8   105.2    -4.9   -3.3     -2.2     7.0    -3.3   
01-22-02   |   Corn 2/.............................................|  91.2    69.6    75.6   -22.9    8.6    -16.5    -3.1     8.6   
01-31      |   Slaughter cattle 2/.................................| 128.4   122.8   126.1   -10.9    2.7     -1.2    -2.8     2.7   
01-32      |   Slaughter hogs......................................|  97.9    91.2    90.1    48.7   -1.2      3.5    16.4     -.8   
01-41-02   |   Slaughter broilers/fryers...........................| 195.2   167.9   169.0     4.3     .7      2.6     -.3     4.0   
01-42      |   Slaughter turkeys...................................| 131.1   141.7   134.8    21.7   -4.9     -2.9    -1.6     3.5   
01-6       |   Fluid milk..........................................| 112.2   118.3   123.6    19.8    4.5       .8     5.8     5.1   
01-83-01-31|   Soybeans 2/.........................................|  99.1    85.7    94.3   -29.7   10.0    -12.3     1.8    10.0   
02-52-01-03|   Cane sugar, raw (Dec. 2003=100) 2/..................|  98.2    99.0    99.0    -1.0    0       -2.2      .5     0     
           |                                                       |                                                                  
           |                                                       |                                                                 
           |  CRUDE NONFOOD MATERIALS..............................| 186.6   208.1   196.6    31.5   -5.5      7.1    12.3    -5.7   
           |                                                       |                                                                 
01-51      |   Raw cotton 2/.......................................|  72.1    70.7    68.8   -35.5   -2.7    -12.3      .1    -2.7   
01-92      |   Leaf tobacco 2/.....................................| 103.5   116.4   120.5     3.8    3.5      1.4     3.9     3.5   
04-1       |   Hides and skins (June 2001=100) 2/..................| 192.7   192.0   191.7      .4    -.2      -.2    -1.2     -.2   
05-1       |   Coal 2/.............................................| 108.9   109.9   110.8    10.7     .8     -1.9     0        .8   
05-31      |   Natural gas 2/......................................| 249.8   313.2   294.4    46.8   -6.0      2.7    43.7    -6.0   
05-61      |   Crude petroleum 2/..................................| 119.3   123.7   108.4    30.1  -12.4     18.4   -11.1   -12.4   
08-5       |   Logs, timber, etc...................................| 194.7   195.6   194.4     3.2    -.6      0        .3     -.8   
09-12      |   Wastepaper 2/.......................................| 237.2   238.2   239.7    17.4     .6      1.5     -.8      .6   
10-11      |   Iron ore 2/.........................................|  98.3    98.3   107.8    11.7    9.7      0       0       9.7   
10-12      |   Iron and steel scrap................................| 368.3   386.2   349.4    48.6   -9.5     15.4     8.0   -10.8   
10-21      |   Nonferrous metal ores (Dec. 1983=100) 2/............| 116.0   123.4   135.7    49.0   10.0      4.1     1.5    10.0   
10-23-01   |   Copper base scrap 2/................................| 181.1   199.5   206.7    35.5    3.6      8.3      .3     3.6   
10-23-02   |   Aluminum base scrap.................................| 189.8   196.5   200.2    12.3    1.9      3.1      .5     1.0   
13-21      |   Construction sand, gravel, and crushed stone........| 184.4   185.3   185.6     4.2     .2       .7      .4      .2   
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
                                                                                                                                     
1/  The indexes for August 2004 have been recalculated to incorporate                  2/  Not seasonally adjusted.                    
    late reports and corrections by respondents. All indexes are subject               3/  Not available.                              
    to revision 4 months after original publication.                                                                                   



Table 3.  Producer price indexes for selected commodity groupings                                
(1982=100 unless otherwise indicated)                                                            
_______________________________________________________________________________________________  
         |                                                |                                   |  
         |                                                |         Unadjusted index 1/       |  
Commodity|                                                |___________________________________|  
  code   |                    Grouping                    | Aug. 2004 | Nov. 2004 | Dec. 2004 |  
_________|________________________________________________|___________|___________|___________|  
         |                                                |           |           |           |  
         | Finished Goods (1967=100)......................|   416.8   |   425.6   |   422.1   |  
         | All commodities................................|   148.0   |   151.3   |   150.1   |  
         |                                                |           |           |           |  
         |                                                |           |           |           |  
         |            MAJOR COMMODITY GROUPS              |           |           |           |  
         |                                                |           |           |           |  
         | Farm products and processed foods and feeds....|   140.6   |   139.3   |   140.2   |  
01       |   Farm products................................|   119.0   |   117.7   |   118.5   |  
02       |   Processed foods and feeds....................|   151.4   |   150.0   |   151.0   |  
         |                                                |           |           |           |  
         | Industrial commodities.........................|   149.3   |   153.5   |   151.8   |  
03       |   Textile products and apparel.................|   121.0   |   121.6   |   121.4   |  
04       |   Hides, skins, leather, and related products..|   165.0   |   165.1   |   165.5   |  
05       |   Fuels and related products and power.........|   130.7   |   140.0   |   132.5   |  
06       |   Chemicals and allied products 2/.............|   176.5   |   182.3   |   183.6   |  
07       |   Rubber and plastic products..................|   133.9   |   136.8   |   137.8   |  
08       |   Lumber and wood products.....................|   202.1   |   191.9   |   193.0   |  
09       |   Pulp, paper, and allied products.............|   197.3   |   198.5   |   199.2   |  
10       |   Metals and metal products....................|   154.0   |   158.3   |   158.6   |  
11       |   Machinery and equipment......................|   122.2   |   122.7   |   122.7   |  
12       |   Furniture and household durables.............|   135.6   |   136.9   |   137.1   |  
13       |   Nonmetallic mineral products.................|   154.4   |   156.3   |   156.8   |  
14       |   Transportation equipment.....................|   147.4   |   151.1   |   151.1   |  
15       |   Miscellaneous products.......................|   183.4   |   186.0   |   186.5   |  
         |                                                |           |           |           |  
         | Industrial commodities less fuels and related  |           |           |           |  
         |   products and power...........................|   152.6   |   154.9   |   155.3   |  
         |                                                |           |           |           |  
         |                                                |           |           |           |  
         |             OTHER COMMODITY GROUPINGS          |           |           |           |  
         |                                                |           |           |           |  
01-1     | Fruits and melons, fresh and dry vegetables,   |           |           |           |  
         |   and tree nuts................................|   113.6   |   148.7   |   133.3   |  
01-2     | Grains.........................................|    92.1   |    81.1   |    84.3   |  
01-3     | Slaughter livestock............................|   121.0   |   115.2   |   117.2   |  
01-4     | Slaughter poultry..............................|   179.6   |   160.2   |   159.8   |  
01-5     | Plant and animal fibers........................|    73.2   |    71.7   |    69.8   |  
01-7     | Chicken eggs...................................|    97.1   |    88.6   |   103.3   |  
01-8     | Hay, hayseeds, and oilseeds....................|   123.8   |   111.0   |   118.6   |  
01-83    | Oilseeds.......................................|   109.9   |    96.7   |   105.6   |  
01-9     | Other farm products............................|   154.3   |   173.6   |   179.7   |  
02-1     | Cereal and bakery products.....................|   174.3   |   175.2   |   175.1   |  
02-2     | Meats, poultry, and fish.......................|   141.7   |   139.4   |   141.2   |  
02-22    | Processed poultry..............................|   132.7   |   123.9   |   124.4   |  
02-5     | Sugar and confectionery........................|   150.3   |   152.7   |   154.6   |  
02-6     | Beverages and beverage materials...............|   153.8   |   154.5   |   154.6   |  
02-63    | Packaged beverage materials....................|   131.2   |   131.4   |   131.4   |  
02-7     | Fats and oils..................................|   186.9   |   179.1   |   176.8   |  
03-81    | Apparel........................................|   125.1   |   125.7   |   125.6   |  
04-4     | Other leather and related products.............|   149.8   |   150.1   |   150.9   |  
05-3     | Gas fuels......................................|   236.6   |   291.9   |   271.1   |  
05-4     | Electric power.................................|   148.3   |   142.8   |   143.5   |  
05-7     | Refined petroleum products.....................|   122.9   |   136.8   |   119.0   |  
06-3     | Drugs and pharmaceuticals......................|   285.7   |   286.8   |   287.8   |  
06-5     | Agricultural chemicals and products............|   143.3   |   147.8   |   148.7   |  
06-7     | Other chemicals and allied products............|   143.8   |   145.1   |   145.7   |  
07-1     | Rubber and rubber products.....................|   123.4   |   124.5   |   125.7   |  
07-11    | Rubber, except natural rubber..................|   133.0   |   138.0   |   140.9   |  
07-13    | Miscellaneous rubber products..................|   142.8   |   143.3   |   145.0   |  
07-2     | Plastic products...............................|   142.2   |   145.8   |   146.8   |  
08-1     | Lumber.........................................|   219.0   |   193.7   |   194.0   |  
09-1     | Pulp, paper, and products, excluding building  |           |           |           |  
         |   paper and board..............................|   165.0   |   167.2   |   168.0   |  
09-15    | Converted paper and paperboard products........|   170.5   |   173.1   |   173.5   |  
10-1     | Iron and steel.................................|   174.2   |   182.0   |   179.4   |  
10-2     | Nonferrous metals..............................|   145.7   |   150.9   |   154.0   |  
10-25    | Nonferrous mill shapes.........................|   151.3   |   156.4   |   158.8   |  
11-3     | Metalworking machinery and equipment...........|   152.8   |   153.7   |   154.6   |  
11-4     | General purpose machinery and equipment........|   161.1   |   162.6   |   163.2   |  
11-6     | Special industry machinery.....................|   170.3   |   171.4   |   171.4   |  
11-7     | Electrical machinery and equipment.............|   113.3   |   113.6   |   113.4   |  
11-9     | Miscellaneous machinery and equipment..........|   141.2   |   142.0   |   142.2   |  
12-6     | Other household durable goods..................|   160.5   |   161.2   |   161.2   |  
13-2     | Concrete ingredients...........................|   172.0   |   173.4   |   173.8   |  
14-1     | Motor vehicles and equipment...................|   128.9   |   133.3   |   133.1   |  
15-1     | Toys, sporting goods, small arms, etc..........|   132.9   |   133.9   |   133.3   |  
15-4     | Photographic equipment and supplies............|   102.2   |   102.6   |   102.6   |  
15-9     | Other miscellaneous products...................|   143.1   |   144.0   |   144.9   |  
__________________________________________________________|___________|___________|___________|  
                                                                                                 
1/  Data for August 2004 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 selected industries and industry groups, not seasonally
adjusted               
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
                  |                                              |     |         Index         |  Percent change    
  Industry        |                Industry 1/                   |Index|_______________________|to_Dec._2004_from:  
    code          |                                              |base |       |       |       |        |           
                  |                                              |     |Aug.   |Nov.   |Dec.   |  Dec.  |  Nov.     
                  |                                              |     |2004 2/|2004 2/|2004 2/|  2003  |  2004     
__________________|______________________________________________|_____|_______|_______|_______|________|_________  
                  |                                              |     |                                            
                  |Total mining industries...................... |12/84| 159.3   180.5   170.0     31.8     -5.8    
       211        | Oil and gas extraction...................... |12/85| 202.7   237.5   216.7     39.7     -8.8    
       212        | Mining (except oil & gas)................... |12/03| 110.4   112.7   116.1     16.1      3.0    
       213        | Mining support activities................... |12/03| 105.3   112.7   113.1     13.1       .4    
                  |                                              |     |                                            
                  |Total manufacturing industries............... |12/84| 143.7   146.0   144.7      5.1      -.9    
       311        | Food mfg.................................... |12/84| 144.6   142.9   144.0      2.1       .8    
       312        | Beverage & tobacco mfg...................... |12/03| 101.1   101.6   101.7      1.7       .1    
       313        | Textile mills............................... |12/03| 101.2   102.0   101.6      1.6      -.4    
       314        | Textile product mills....................... |12/03| 102.2   103.6   103.6      3.6    0        
       315        | Apparel manufacturing....................... |12/03|  99.7   100.1   100.1       .1    0        
       316        | Leather & allied product mfg................ |12/84| 143.6   143.9   144.1       .5       .1    
       321        | Wood products manufacturing................. |12/03| 109.8   105.0   106.0      6.0      1.0    
       322        | Paper manufacturing......................... |12/03| 104.4   105.7   106.0      6.0       .3    
       323        | Printing and related support activities..... |12/03| 101.3   102.1   102.0      2.0      -.1    
       324        | Petroleum and coal products mfg............. |12/84| 155.6   170.6   148.5     26.4    -13.0    
       325        | Chemical mfg................................ |12/84| 173.8   178.3   180.2      9.0      1.1    
       326        | Plastics and rubber products mfg............ |12/84| 131.7   134.7   135.9      5.5       .9    
       327        | Nonmetallic mineral product mfg............. |12/84| 144.0   145.4   145.9      5.3       .3    
       331        | Primary metal mfg........................... |12/84| 148.3   154.1   154.9     27.6       .5    
       332        | Fabricated metal product mfg................ |12/84| 143.4   145.2   145.5      8.8       .2    
       333        | Machinery mfg............................... |12/03| 102.3   103.2   103.5      3.5       .3    
       334        | Computer & electronic product mfg........... |12/03|  98.9    98.6    98.4     -1.6      -.2    
       335        | Electrical equip, appliance & component mfg. |12/03| 103.8   104.4   105.0      5.0       .6    
       336        | Transportation equipment mfg................ |12/03|  99.8   102.7   102.8      2.8       .1    
       337        | Furniture & related product mfg............. |12/84| 152.7   154.6   155.0      5.0       .3    
       339        | Miscellaneous mfg........................... |12/03| 101.4   101.6   102.1      2.1       .5    
                  |                                              |     |                                            
                  |Retail trade industries                       |     |                                            
       441        | Motor vehicle and parts dealers............. |12/03| 103.8   104.0   104.3      4.3       .3    
       442        | Furniture and home furnishings stores....... |12/03| 102.8   105.1   104.1      4.1     -1.0    
       443        | Electronics and appliance stores............ |12/03|  98.7    97.9    93.8     -6.2     -4.2    
       444        | Bldg material and garden equip and supp      |     |                                            
                  |  dealers.................................... |12/03| 111.5   107.9   108.9      8.9       .9    
       445        | Food and beverage stores.................... |12/99| 121.1   123.8   127.7      7.4      3.2    
       446        | Health and personal care stores............. |12/03| 105.6   104.6   107.7      7.7      3.0    
       447        | Gasoline stations........................... |06/01|  48.6    52.0    62.5     30.5     20.2    
       448        | Clothing and clothing accessories stores.... |12/03| 102.1   101.4    99.7      -.3     -1.7    
       451        | Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores |12/03|  95.4    95.6    95.0     -5.0      -.6    
       452        | General merchandise stores.................. |12/03| 104.6   102.7   101.8      1.8      -.9    
       454        | Nonstore retailers.......................... |12/03| 102.0   111.7   117.5     17.5      5.2    
                  |                                              |     |                                            
                  |Transportation and warehousing                |     |                                            
       481        | Air transportation.......................... |12/92| 163.4   160.4   163.0       .2      1.6    
       482        | Rail transportation......................... |12/96| 113.5   115.5   117.2      6.9      1.5    
       483        | Water transportation........................ |12/03| 102.1   103.4   103.5      3.5       .1    
       484        | Truck transportation........................ |12/03| 103.7   105.4   105.3      5.3      -.1    
       486110     | Pipeline transportation of crude oil........ |06/86| 116.6   116.6   116.6      5.1    0        
       486910     | Pipeline transportation of refined petroleum |     |                                            
                  |  products................................... |06/86| 117.3   117.4   117.4      2.6    0        
       488        | Transportation support activities........... |12/03| 101.6   102.5   102.4      2.4      -.1 
       491        | Postal service.............................. |06/89| 155.0   155.0   155.0      0.0      0.0    
       492        | Couriers and messengers..................... |12/03| 106.0   106.8   107.2      7.2       .4    
                  |                                              |     |                                            
                  |Utilities                                     |     |                                            
       221        | Utilities................................... |12/03| 107.4   108.5   108.5      8.5    0        
                  |                                              |     |                                            
                  |Health care and social assistance             |     |                                            
       6211       | Offices of physicians....................... |12/96| 114.3   114.4   114.4      1.4    0        
       6215       | Medical and diagnostic laboratories......... |12/03| 100.1   100.1   100.1       .1    0        
       6216       | Home health care services................... |12/96| 119.7   120.0   120.1       .9       .1    
       622        | Hospitals................................... |12/92| 141.6   143.3   143.6      4.4       .2    
       6231       | Nursing care facilities..................... |12/03| 103.0   103.6   103.3      3.3      -.3    
       62321      | Residential mental retardation facilities... |12/03| 102.1   102.0   101.9      1.9      -.1    
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
 See footnotes at end of table.

Table 4. Producer price indexes for the net output of selected industries and industry groups, not seasonally 
adjusted - Continued  
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
                  |                                              |     |         Index         |  Percent change    
  Industry        |                Industry 1/                   |Index|_______________________|to_Dec._2004_from:  
    code          |                                              |base |       |       |       |        |           
                  |                                              |     |Aug.   |Nov.   |Dec.   |  Dec.  |  Nov.     
                  |                                              |     |2004 2/|2004 2/|2004 2/|  2003  |  2004     
__________________|______________________________________________|_____|_______|_______|_______|________|_________  
                  |                                              |     |                                            
                  |Other services industries                     |     |                                            
       511        | Publishing industries, except Internet...... |12/03| 101.5   102.0   101.7      1.7      -.3    
       515        | Broadcasting, except Internet............... |12/03| 100.9   105.5   104.9      4.9      -.6    
       517        | Telecommunications.......................... |12/03|  99.9    99.0    98.9     -1.1      -.1    
       5182       | Data processing and related services........ |12/03|  99.0    98.5    98.5     -1.5    0        
       523        | Security, commodity contracts and like       |     |                                            
                  |  activity................................... |12/03| 104.1   105.3   106.0      6.0       .7    
       524        | Insurance carriers and related activities... |12/03| 102.3   102.6   102.7      2.7       .1    
       53112      | Lessors of nonres bldg (exc miniwarehouse).. |12/03| 104.0   104.2   103.1      3.1     -1.1    
       5312       | Offices of real estate agents and brokers... |12/03| 101.0    99.6   100.1       .1       .5    
       5321       | Automotive equipment rental and leasing..... |06/01| 110.8   107.9   108.5      -.5       .6    
       5411       | Legal services.............................. |12/96| 131.5   132.1   132.0      4.3      -.1    
       541211     | Offices of certified public accountants..... |12/03| 101.4   102.3   102.1      2.1      -.2    
       5413       | Architectural, engineering and related       |     |                                            
                  |  services................................... |12/96| 127.0   127.3   127.4      1.7       .1    
       54181      | Advertising agencies........................ |12/03| 100.3   100.7   100.6       .6      -.1    
       5613       | Employment services......................... |12/96| 114.6   115.2   114.1      1.8     -1.0    
       56151      | Travel agencies............................. |12/03|  94.7    96.4    96.1     -3.9      -.3    
       56172      | Janitorial services......................... |12/03| 101.1   101.3   101.1      1.1      -.2    
       5621       | Waste collection............................ |12/03| 101.4   101.4   101.5      1.5       .1    
       721        | Accommodation                                |12/96| 127.0   124.7   122.6      1.7     -1.7    
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  

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 August 2004 have been recalculated to incorporate late reports and corrections by respondents.     
   All indexes are subject to revision 4 months after original publication.                                      
3/ Not available.                       
                                                                            
Note: NAICS 2002 replaced the SIC system beginning with the release of PPI data for January 2004.  



Table 5.  Producer price indexes by stage of processing, seasonally adjusted
(1982=100)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                       |                                                     
                                                       |                      Index 1/                       
                                                       |_____________________________________________________
               Grouping                                |        |        |        |        |        |        
                                                       |  July  |  Aug.  |  Sep.  |  Oct.  |  Nov.  |  Dec.  
                                                       |  2004  |  2004  |  2004  |  2004  |  2004  |  2004  
_______________________________________________________|________|________|________|________|________|________
                                                       |                                            
      Finished goods...................................|  148.3    148.3    148.5    151.0    151.8    150.8
        Finished consumer goods........................|  151.4    151.4    151.4    154.6    155.6    154.2
          Finished consumer foods......................|  152.0    151.6    151.6    154.1    154.7    154.8
            Crude......................................|  121.4    128.4    138.4    157.9    156.9    142.9
            Processed..................................|  154.6    153.5    152.7    153.7    154.4    155.7
          Finished consumer goods, excluding foods.....|  150.8    150.9    151.0    154.5    155.6    153.6
            Nondurable goods less foods................|  156.6    156.7    156.4    161.4    162.8    159.8
            Durable goods..............................|  134.7    134.7    135.5    136.0    136.4    136.5
        Capital equipment..............................|  141.3    141.7    142.1    142.7    143.0    143.2
          Manufacturing industries.....................|  142.6    142.8    143.1    143.5    143.7    144.0
          Nonmanufacturing industries..................|  140.7    141.2    141.7    142.4    142.6    142.9
                                                       |
      Intermediate materials, supplies, and components.|  143.2    144.8    145.1    146.4    147.5    147.0
        Materials and components for manufacturing.....|  138.0    139.4    140.7    141.2    141.8    142.8
          Materials for food manufacturing.............|  146.7    144.0    143.2    143.4    144.0    145.7
          Materials for nondurable manufacturing.......|  147.3    150.0    152.2    153.6    155.1    156.8
          Materials for durable manufacturing..........|  147.1    150.2    153.1    152.7    153.4    154.9
          Components for manufacturing.................|  127.5    127.7    128.0    128.3    128.4    128.6
        Materials and components for construction......|  167.2    169.6    171.0    170.8    170.8    171.5
        Processed fuels and lubricants.................|  125.1    128.9    126.2    131.4    134.8    128.9
          Manufacturing industries ....................|  126.2    130.0    127.3    128.6    133.1    130.8
          Nonmanufacturing industries..................|  124.5    128.2    125.5    133.2    135.9    127.7
        Containers.....................................|  159.7    162.0    162.5    164.1    164.3    165.2
        Supplies.......................................|  148.0    147.6    147.7    147.8    148.0    148.6
          Manufacturing industries.....................|  149.4    149.6    150.2    151.3    151.5    152.3
          Nonmanufacturing industries..................|  146.4    145.9    145.8    145.8    145.9    146.5
            Feeds......................................|  130.2    116.8    110.7    102.9    101.4    101.7
            Other supplies.............................|  148.9    149.7    150.3    151.0    151.3    151.9
                                                       |
      Crude materials for further processing...........|  161.5    161.3    153.1    159.7    173.6    168.5
        Foodstuffs and feedstuffs......................|  128.8    123.0    120.4    119.4    121.5    125.0
        Nonfood materials..............................|  182.2    186.4    174.0    186.4    209.3    197.4
          Nonfood materials except fuel 2/.............|  148.8    158.6    155.3    172.0    165.8    155.9
            Manufacturing 2/...........................|  137.3    146.5    143.4    159.0    153.2    143.9
            Construction...............................|  193.9    194.3    194.4    195.0    195.4    193.7
          Crude fuel 3/................................|  219.9    214.0    187.1    190.6    261.5    247.7
            Manufacturing industries...................|  208.4    202.9    178.3    181.4    246.8    234.1
            Nonmanufacturing industries................|  225.0    218.9    191.3    194.9    267.7    253.5
                                                       |
                     Special groupings                 |
                                                       |
      Finished goods, excluding foods..................|  147.0    147.3    147.4    150.0    150.8    149.5
      Intermediate materials less foods and feeds......|  143.4    145.4    145.8    147.3    148.4    147.8
      Intermediate foods and feeds.....................|  142.0    135.7    133.1    130.6    130.6    131.7
      Crude materials less agricultural products 2/....|  186.1    190.7    177.5    190.6    214.5    202.0
                                                       |
      Finished energy goods............................|  113.3    113.1    112.2    119.8    121.9    117.0
      Finished goods less energy.......................|  152.0    152.2    152.6    153.6    154.0    154.1
      Finished consumer goods less energy..............|  156.7    156.7    157.2    158.4    158.8    158.9
                                                       |
      Finished goods less foods and energy.............|  152.4    152.8    153.3    153.8    154.1    154.3
      Finished consumer goods less foods and energy....|  160.0    160.2    160.9    161.3    161.7    161.8
      Consumer nondurable goods less foods and energy..|  180.4    180.8    181.4    181.7    182.0    182.2
                                                       |
      Intermediate energy goods........................|  123.9    127.5    125.1    130.5    133.5    128.4
      Intermediate materials less energy...............|  146.4    147.5    148.5    148.7    149.2    150.0
      Intermediate materials less foods and energy.....|  146.8    148.3    149.5    149.9    150.5    151.2
                                                       |
      Crude energy materials 2/........................|  177.9    181.9    166.3    179.5    210.1    194.7
      Crude materials less energy......................|  145.9    143.1    139.8    142.0    144.9    146.5
      Crude nonfood materials less energy 3/...........|  195.2    200.1    195.1    205.7    210.9    207.3
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                                                                                             
  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 August 2004 have been 
      recalculated to incorporate late reports and corrections by respondents.                               
  2/  Includes crude petroleum.                                                                              
  3/  Excludes crude petroleum.