Gerald L. Farrar
Contributing Editor
The accompanying table compares refinery construction and operating wages monthly for the years 1992 and 1993. (See Jan. 3, 1994, and Jan. 1, 1991, for other references.)
The Nelson-Farrar refinery construction cost indexes are inflation indexes, while the operating indexes incorporate a productivity which shows improvement with experience and the increasing size of operations.
The refinery construction wage indexes in the table show a steady advance over the 2-year period, with composite indexes varying from 1,558.1 in January 1992 to 1,645.2 in December 1993.
Common labor indexes moved up faster than skilled indexes. The common labor index stood at 1,852.9 at the start of the period and 1,971.9 at the end.
Refinery operating wages showed a steady increase, while productivites averaged higher near the end of the period. Net result is that labor costs remained steady for the period. Labor costs averaged 286.1 for 1992 and 285.5 for 1993. Lowest operating labor cost for the 2-year period was 262.6 in July 1992, while the highest was 306.3 in February 1992.
