Australia Yearbook - 2001

954 Year Book Australia 2001
The next index published was the Wholesale
Price (Basic Materials and Foodstuffs) Index
which was introduced in 1939; index numbers are
available for the period 1928 to 1970. The index
related to commodities in their basic or primary
form, and prices were obtained as near as
possible to the point where they made their first
effective impact on the local price structure. With
few exceptions, prices were obtained from
Melbourne sources.
The present range of producer price indexes was
developed and produced progressively from the
1960s. Until recently, the range of indexes was
restricted to the measurement of prices for goods
used in or purchased by the building industry,
manufacturing industry, and (not included in this
chapter) the mining industry as well as outputs of
the manufacturing industry.
As part of a long term program, the ABS is
expanding the coverage of the producer price
indexes to include the measurement of price
changes for the output of the service industries
and the construction industry (see Services
output price indexes). In parallel with this
expansion in coverage, an economy wide ‘stage
of production’ framework has been implemented
for the producer price indexes, to supplement
the current industry sector approach (see Stage
of production producer price indexes).
28.8 PRODUCER AND WHOLESALE PRICE
INDEXES(a)
Index
no.
Melbourne Wholesale Price Index
(All groups)
1861 24.2
1871 19.3
1881 17.6
1891 14.9
1901 15.3
1911 15.7
1921 30.0
1925–26 29.7
Wholesale Price (Basic Materials and
Foodstuffs) Index (All groups)
1930–31 25.4
1935–36 23.9
1940–41 29.3
1945–46 36.5
1950–51 62.7
1955–56 85.9
1960–61 92.5
...continued
28.8 PRODUCER AND WHOLESALE PRICE
INDEXES(a)—continued
Index
no.
Wholesale Price (Basic Materials and
Foodstuffs) Index (All groups)—(continued)
1961–62 86.4
1962–63 87.4
1963–64 90.0
1964–65 91.3
1965–66 95.4
1966–67 98.4
1967–68 99.7
Price Index of Articles Produced by
Manufacturing Industry
1968–69 100.0
1969–70 103.9
1970–71 108.5
1971–72 113.9
1972–73 120.7
1973–74 134.6
1974–75 158.1
1975–76 177.8
1976–77 196.9
1977–78 213.8
1978–79 237.4
1979–80 274.9
1980–81 305.2
1981–82 328.9
1982–83 360.2
1983–84 382.8
1984–85 404.8
1985–86 430.3
1986–87 458.5
1987–88 492.1
1988–89 526.0
1989–90 559.9
1990–91 584.6
1991–92 586.7
1992–93 600.9
1993–94 607.3
1994–95 620.9
1995–96 636.7
1996–97 639.9
1997–98 648.3
1998–99 646.7
1999–00 674.5
(a) Reference base year 1968–69 = 100.0.
Source: Labour Report; Price Indexes of Articles Produced by
Manufacturing Industry, Australia (6412.0).