Price Behavior in Primary Manufacturing Industries, 1958-1973

It is the price behavior in primary manufacturing industries and its implication for general inflation that is the subject of this paper. The industries comprising primary manufacturing are quite diverse. They differ with respect to labor and capital intensity, domestic and international market structure and the markets that they supply -- consumer goods manufacturing, producer goods manufacturing and construction. To shed light on the price behavior of the group as a whole it is necessary to disaggregate the total somewhat. In this study they are broken down into eight separate industries. The exact definition of each, both in terms of 4-digit SIC industry and I-0 cell is available on request. In general, the eight separate industries consist of the primary manufacturers producing (1) textiles, (2) wood, (3) paper,(4) chemicals, (5) fertilizers,(6) stone, clay and glass, (7) iron and steel, and (8) nonferrous metals.