The preliminary value for the October 2015 CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) continued a string of monthly declines that has been observed in recent months. For October, the drop is driven by a decline in the Equipment subindex. The Buildings, Construction Labor and Engineering and Supervision subindices all increased in October. The preliminary CEPCI value for October is 5.6% lower than the corresponding value from a year ago at the same time. This represents continued growth of the year-to-year differential over the past several months. Meanwhile, the latest Current Business Indicators (CBI) numbers showed a continued climb in the CPI output index and a decrease in producer prices.
Current Economic Trends
| By Scott Jenkins