The preliminary value for the August 2018 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; top; most recent available) increased compared to the previous month’s value, continuing an upward trend that has been in place throughout 2018. The increase, however was driven by gains in the Equipment subindex and subcategories only. The Construction Labor subindex remained flat this month and the Buildings and Engineering & Supervision subindexes decreased slightly for August. The overall CEPCI for August stands at 7.3% higher than the corresponding value from August of last year. Meanwhile, the CBI data (middle) for Sept. 2018 show a small decrease in the CPI output index from August, and a small reduction in CPI operating rate.
2018 CEPCI updates: August (prelim.) and July (final)
| By Scott Jenkins