The preliminary value for the February CE Plant Cost Index (CEPCI; the most recent available) represents a gain from the previous month’s value. Significant increases in the Equipment and Engineering & Supervision subindices offset a small decrease in the Construction Labor subindex to push the overall PCI value higher. The Buildings subindex was slightly higher also. The preliminary monthly CEPCI number for February 2017 stands at 4.6% higher than the corresponding value from February 2016. Meanwhile, the latest Current Business Indicators (CBI) for March 2017 saw the CPI Output Index and the CPI Operating Rate both stay flat compared to the previous month, while the Productivity Index increased slightly.
Current Economic Trends: February 2017 CEPCI
| By Scott Jenkins