Comparing NAICS-Based Producer Price Index Industry Net Output Data and International Price Program Import Data

Abstract

Data users have expressed interest in analyzing trends in prices for domestically produced products versus imports by comparing Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) producer price indexes (PPIs) to BLS import price indexes (MPIs). Because BLS publishes both PPIs and MPIs classified according to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), potential exists for comparing price trends using NAICS-based PPIs and MPIs. There are, however, four important potential differences between PPIs and MPIs that data users should consider before comparing the two series. This article explains these potential differences and presents a new data table for assessing the comparability of NAICS-based PPIs and MPIs.