Undresssing the PPI: What Has Really Jumped In Price?

As is our custom, we’ll leave the bickering over the headline PPI numbers and their meaning to others. Instead, we present some of the industries that may be seeing better or worse than normal pricing power. (All grey charts courtesy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.)

First up is corrugated boxes, which are getting more expensive. This is somewhat confusing, as there doesn’t appear to be much demand for them.

The pricing for industrial gases is getting worse (in sharp contrast to the price charts for Air Products (APD) and Praxair (PX).)

Aluminum is getting more expensive.

Prices for industrial valves are rising at the fastest pace ever, which is probably not priced in at Curtiss-Wright (CW).

Computer prices are declining at a slower pace than normal. On the other hand, how much farther can they decline?

Pricing power for the rails is softening -- are the stocks (such as UNP) next?

Telephone calls are getting more expensive for the first time since the 1996 Telecom Act. [Telco stocks include Verizon, Bell South, AT&T.]

Those were the ones that jumped out at us this month.