WASHINGTON — Wholesale prices for U.S.-made apparel rose 0.2 percent in August in both monthly and year-over-year comparisons, the Labor Department reported Thursday in its Producer Price Index.
Women’s apparel prices edged up 0.1 percent compared with July, but declined 0.8 percent versus a year earlier. Men’s apparel prices were flat month-to-month and rose 0.5 percent year-over-year.
Prices for all domestically produced goods and services advanced a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent, after an increase of 0.2 percent in July and a decline of 0.5 percent in June, the Labor Department said. The so-called core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy sectors, advanced 0.1 percent.
“This pace of price increases is very benign for the early phases of recovery,” said Brian Bethune, chief U.S. economist for IHS Global Insight. The PPI is not considered a key gauge of apparel prices, since the vast majority of clothing sold at retail in the U.S. is imported. The Consumer Price Index, which is being released today, is looked at for true swings in pricing.
Related Galleries
In women’s apparel, prices for knit shirts and blouses, woven shirts and blouses, dresses and jeans and slacks increased 0.2 percent in August compared with a month earlier. In 12-month comparisons, knit shirts and blouses dropped 5.5 percent, woven shirts and blouses declined 1 percent and dresses were down 0.4 percent. Prices for jeans and slacks rose 0.2 in August compared with a year ago.
In men’s apparel, prices for work clothing rose 0.2 percent in August and were flat compared with last year. Knit shirts increased 0.9 percent and advanced 4 percent year-over-year. Woven shirts were flat last month compared with July, but rose 1.5 percent in 12-month comparisons. Wholesale prices for men’s suits declined 0.3 percent, but advanced 0.9 percent compared with August 2009.
Apparel fabric prices were up 0.3 percent and increased 4.1 percent compared with a year earlier. Fabric manufactured at textile product mills, which make mostly home furnishing and industrial fabrics, rose 0.3 in August and 1.9 percent from a year earlier. Deeper in the pipeline, yarn prices edged up 0.1 percent last month and jumped 8.4 percent from last year. Greige fabric prices increased 1.2 percent month-to-month and gained 5 percent in 12-month comparisons.
Finished fabric prices advanced 0.4 percent in monthly comparisons and rose 3.3 percent versus August 2009. Synthetic fiber declined 0.3 percent compared with a month earlier and fell 4.1 percent year-over-year.