Preliminary data from the CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; top) for December 2012 (the most recent available) indicate that capital equipment prices rose 0.37% from November to December, reversing the dip from the previous month. Even after the rise, the current-year plant cost index stands at 2.95% lower than it was in December of the previous year (2011). Within the CEPCI, the preliminary December numbers indicate that all equipment-class subgroups, as well as construction labor, buildings and engineering and supervision edged upward in December of last year. Meanwhile, the Current Business Indicators from IHS Global Insight (middle), show a slight decrease in the latest CPI output index value (Jan. 2013).
Current Economic Indicators
| By Scott Jenkins