More producer price indexes by commodity and industry

FRED recently added 1,502 series of producer price index (PPI) data. PPIs, which are reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), measure the average change over time in sale prices received by domestic producers of goods and services. In other words, PPIs measure price changes from the perspective of the seller.

FRED's latest data additions expand overall coverage of commodity and industry prices to 12,283 individual series, offering detailed information about a broad swath of economic activity.

As a sample, we built the above FRED graph using the commodity prices of three types of bivalve mollusks: oysters (solid blue line), sea scallops (dash-dot green line), and mussels (dashed orange line). Between January 2016 and the time of this writing, the data show more marked price volatility for sea scallops than for oysters, while the price of mussels appears relatively stable.

The fluctuating prices of a clambake with these ingredients may reflect demand and supply shocks singular to each succulent seafood.

How this graph was created: Search FRED for and select "Producer Price Index by Commodity: Processed Foods and Feeds: Oysters." Click on the "Edit Graph" button and select the "Add Line" tab. Search for and add "Producer Price Index by Commodity: Processed Foods and Feeds: Sea Scallops." Repeat the last step to add "Producer Price Index by Commodity: Processed Foods and Feeds: Mussels" to the graph.

Suggested by Diego Mendez-Carbajo.