Gary Farrar
Contributing Editor
The Nelson-Farrar refinery construction index rose to 2,475.6 by December 2012 from 2,467.4 in January of the same year. The index continued to rise over the next 2 years to reach 2,567.9 in December 2014.
The labor index rose to 3,252.2 in December 2014 from 3,019.1 in January 2012, while the materials index decreased to 1,541.5 from 1,639.8 during the same period.
The miscellaneous equipment index varied a modest 53 points from 2012-14. Since the category includes manufactured items, their costs are a measure of manufacturing efficiency.
The Nelson-Farrar refinery operations index mildly rose during the 3-year period, while the process unit index experienced a near 100-point gain to reach 857.4 by December 2014. While changes in the cost of refinery fuels accounted for a great deal of oscillation in these two indexes from 2012-14, continued increases in refinery operating efficiency helped stabilize values of both indexes.
