The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics dropped its latest Producer Price Index (PPI) on Thursday.
The monthly index showed that the glass and glass product manufacturing PPI rose by 0.5% following a revised 1% increase in January. Costs for glass products and their manufacturing have increased in four of the past five months.
On a year-to-year basis, the PPI for glass and glass product manufacturing was up 3.1% compared to February 2024. In the 12 months through February, the overall PPI climbed 3.2% after rising 3.7% in January. The PPI measures the prices of goods and services at the wholesale level in the U.S., from raw materials to finished products.
While the PPI for final demand remained flat in February, economists expect White House tariffs, which raised consumers’ inflation expectations, to affect the data in the months ahead.
Glass and Glazing Material Prices
The price of flat glass rose 0.3% in February
Flat Glass—The price of flat glass rose 0.3% in February. This follows a revised 0.6% increase in January. On a year-to-year basis, flat glass prices were up 1.4% compared to February 2024.
Flat Glass Manufacturing—Flat glass manufacturing prices increased for the third consecutive month. The index rose by 1.5% in March, following a revised 1% increase in December and a 0.1% increase in November. Prices remained up 4% compared to February 2024.
Fabricated Structural Metal Products—The price for fabricated structural metal products rose by 0.5% in February. The products also increased by 0.4% in January, following a 0.1% decrease in December. On a year-to-year basis, fabricated structural metal product prices were down 0.9% in February compared to February 2024.
Ornamental and Architectural Metalwork—The price of ornamental and architectural metalwork products jumped by 1.3%. This was the first price increase since November (0.7%). On a year-to-year basis, ornamental and architectural metalwork prices were up 8.7% compared to February 2024.
Metal Windows—Metal window prices were flat in February. Prices for the commodity have remained unchanged for three out of the past five months. The last significant fluctuation was in November (a revised -1.1%). On a year-to-year basis, metal window prices were down 0.6% in February compared to February 2024. Metal windows include window frames comprised of aluminum or steel.
Metal Doors and Frames—Prices for metal doors and frames rose 0.1% in February. This follows a 0.1% drop in January. Year-to-year prices for the commodity were up 2.7% in February compared to February 2024.
Builders’ Hardware—A streak of eight consecutive months of unchanged prices was snapped in February as the price of builders’ hardware rose by 0.7%. Year-to-year prices for builders’ hardware products were up 1% in February compared to February 2024. The builders’ hardware commodity includes lock units, key blanks and door and window hardware.
Source: USGlass with additional information added by GlassBalkan
