Cgpi

Key Takeaways

• CGPI measures changes in fixed capital asset prices in New Zealand.
• It is part of New Zealand's Business Price Index and helps guide monetary policy.
• CGPI includes asset groups like buildings, equipment, and infrastructure.
• The index was integrated into the broader Business Price Index in 2015.
• The U.S. has no exact equivalent, but the PPI covers similar components.

What Is Capital Goods Price Index (CGPI)?

The Capital Goods Price Index (CGPI) tracks changes in the prices New Zealand businesses and government pay for fixed capital assets used to produce other goods. It sits within Stats NZ's Business Price Indexes, so it feeds into inflation analysis that can influence monetary policy and broader financial decisions. Published quarterly, the CGPI remains a detailed subsection that helps users monitor capital-cost pressures over time.

How the Capital Goods Price Index (CGPI) Is Calculated and Used

Prepared by Stats NZ, a New Zealand government bureau, CGPI indicates changes in the cost of six types of physical capital assets:

Residential buildings, including houses and apartment complexes

Nonresidential buildings including factories, office buildings, warehouses, and shopping malls

Transportation equipment including commercial road and rail vehicles

Land improvement costs including land clearing, reclamation, irrigation, and drainage

Plant machinery and equipment

Other types of construction including infrastructure projects

CGPI is a constituent of New Zealand's broader Business Price Index along with indices related to producer prices, farm prices, salaries and wages, and consumer goods and services prices.

Capital Goods Price Index (CGPI) publication was discontinued in 2015 as a single headline number after being wrapped into the Business Price Index, which is a broader indicator of price changes in the economy. However, CGPI is still broken down in a subsection of the Business Price Index.

Comparing CGPI and Producer Price Indexes (PPI)

There is no direct corresponding index in the U.S. with New Zealand's Capital Goods Price Index (CGPI). Instead, the Producer Price Index (PPI) captures two similar components for capital goods: materials and components for construction and materials and components for manufacturing.1

Important

CGPI publication was discontinued in 2015 as a single headline number after being wrapped into the Business Price Index. However, CGPI is still broken down in a subsection of the Business Price Index.

Producer price indexes measure price changers from the sellers' or producers' point of view. In other words, this index tracks change to the cost of production. Conversely, a consumer price index (CPI) measures cost changes from the viewpoint of the consumer.