U.S.-made apparel prices inched up 0.1 percent in February and were 3.2 percent higher than a year earlier, the Labor Department’s Producer Price Index showed Thursday.
Wholesale prices in the overall economy, pushed by hikes in energy costs, increased a seasonably adjusted 0.4 percent, the second consecutive monthly gain. The core PPI index, excluding volatile food and energy prices and a key gauge of inflation, moved up 0.2 percent in February, the third straight monthly increase.
“Rising world oil prices were the prime mover behind the acceleration in producer price inflation in February,” said Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight.
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Gault noted that the energy news wasn’t all bad. The natural gas glut continues to drive prices lower, as they fell 2.8 percent, helped by this year’s mild winter weather. He said that although consumers are suffering at the gas pump, food prices fell 0.01 percent, the third monthly decline, somewhat balancing household spending woes.
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Women’s and girls’ domestically made apparel prices were up 0.1 percent last month and advanced 1.7 percent from February 2011. In the category, tailored jackets and vests showed the biggest increase, up 1.7 percent for the month and 7.8 percent for the year. Nightwear prices had the biggest decline at 3 percent for the month, but were up 0.6 percent from a year earlier.
Men’s and boys apparel prices rose 0.9 percent last month and were up 6.3 percent year-to-year. In the category, knit dress and sport shirt prices increased the most, rising 8.9 percent for the month and 21.7 percent for the year, followed by the sweater, sweatpants, beachwear and ski apparel group, rising 3.6 percent in the month and 6.6 percent from February 2011. Men’s work shirts had the sharpest decline, with prices dropping 3 percent from January, but still increasing 7.1 percent compared to a year earlier.
While imports still represent the bulk of apparel sold at retail — a recent government report put it at 86 percent — a move to increase U.S. production could give PPI price fluctuations more weight. According to a report this month from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, apparel manufacturing in the U.S. increased 2.6 percent in 2011, as textile production grew 3.8 percent. The Consumer Price Index, which measures all goods sold at retail, including imports, will be released on Friday.
Further down the pipeline, yarn prices dropped 0.4 percent in the month and 6.5 percent in the year, likely reflecting the steep drop in raw cotton prices from last year. Prices on finished fabrics fell 0.1 percent in February, but were still 4.8 percent higher than a year earlier. Wholesale prices on greige knit fabrics were flat for the month, but were up 9.6 percent from a year earlier. Prices on greige woven fabrics fell 1 percent last month, but were 1.8 percent higher for the year.