HOW INDEXES HAVE CHANGED

Gerald L. Farrar Contributing Editor The accompanying table at right compares refinery construction and operating wages monthly for the years 1990 and 1991. (See 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

Jan. 3, 1994

Gerald L. Farrar
Contributing Editor

The accompanying table at right compares refinery construction and operating wages monthly for the years 1990 and 1991. (See 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 component indexes varying from 1,469.5 in January 1990 to 1,558.1 in December 1991.

Common labor indexes moved up faster than skilled indexes. The common index stood at 1,752.2 at the start of the period and 1,852.9 at the end. Refinery operating wages showed a steady increase, while productivities averaged higher near the end of the period. Net result is that labor costs remained steady for the period. Operating labor costs averaged 270.5 for 1980 and 280.8 for 1991. Lowest operating cost for the 2 year span was 239.9 in August 1990, while the highest was 300.5 in November 1990.