The March 2016 preliminary value for the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) stayed even with the value from the previous month, with the Construction Labor, Buildings and Engineering & Supervision subindices all rising, while the Equipment subindex dipped slightly. The preliminary March 2016 CEPCI value is 6.1% lower than the corresponding value from March last year. This is again a smaller year-over-year difference than in the preceding several months. Meanwhile, the latest Current Business Indicators (CBI) for April 2016 showed small decreases in the CPI output index and the CPI operating rate compared to the previous month. Producer prices edged higher in April, after a series of recent decreases.
Economic trends
| By Scott Jenkins