In recognition of the increasing contribution of service industries to the Australian economy, the ABS has been undertaking a program to progressively extend the scope of the producer price indexes into the service sectors of the economy. This program is an important part of a broader ABS plan to provide a range of statistics that will improve the measurement of service industries in the Australian economy. Similar initiatives are also being undertaken by statistical agencies in several other countries.
Since April 2000, the ABS has been publishing quarterly producer price indexes for the output of the Transport (freight) and Storage Division, and the Property and Business Services Division of ANZSIC. The Transport (freight) and Storage Division index contains important freight transport industries such as road, rail, sea and air. The Property and Business Services Division index contains services such as real estate agents and the hire and lease of machinery and equipment, and a diverse range of business services including surveying, computer services, accounting services, market research and cleaning services. The index numbers are calculated on the reference base 1998-99 = 100.0. As of the June quarter 2002 the index weighting patterns have been updated to reflect the 1996-97 input-output domestic production tables. From the June quarter 2001 these have been released in the publication Producer Price Indexes, Australia (6427.0).
Indexes for additional service industries will be released in that publication as they are developed.
The services price indexes aim to:
- assist in improving the quality of the national accounts by providing a wider range of deflators for deriving real measures of economic growth
- contribute to the development of new measures of inflation by expanding the coverage of the indexes compiled under the economy-wide stage of production price indexes (see Stage of production producer price indexes)
- be of use in their own right for industry analysis.
Tables 28.13 and 28.14 provide broad level, summary index series.
28.13 PRODUCER PRICE INDEXES FOR SELECTED SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Transport (freight) and storage(a)
|
 | Transport (freight) and storage division | Road
transport | Rail
transport | Water
transport | Air and space
transport | Other
transport | Services to
transport | Storage |
|
| 1996-97 | n.a. | n.a. | 109.8 | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | 95.9 |
| 1997-98 | n.a. | 98.8 | 105.1 | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | 99.4 |
| 1998-99 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | n.a. | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| 1999-2000 | 100.2 | 101.0 | 94.4 | 103.8 | 99.1 | n.a. | 97.2 | 100.9 |
| 2000-01 | 102.3 | 103.1 | 95.3 | 109.8 | 102.7 | 101.8 | 97.2 | 102.1 |
| 2001-02 | 103.2 | 105.0 | 94.9 | 109.4 | 103.5 | 102.9 | 97.0 | 102.2 |
|
| (a) Reference base year 1998-99 = 100.0. |
Source: Producer Price Indexes, Australia (6427.0). |
28.14 PRODUCER PRICE INDEXES FOR SELECTED SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Property and business services(a)
|
| Property and business services | Property services | Business services |
|
| 1998-99 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| 1999-2000 | 103.6 | 103.2 | 103.8 |
| 2000-01 | 107.5 | 108.7 | 106.9 |
| 2001-02 | 110.6 | 111.5 | 110.1 |
|
| (a) Reference base year 1998-99 = 100.0. |
Source: Producer Price Indexes, Australia (6427.0). |
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