Telecommunications Plant Price Index (CTPPI)

Telecommunications Plant Price Index (CTPPI)
Summary of changes
Related products

Detailed information for these price indexes are available for the reference years 1976 to 1997 inclusively.

Status:

Inactive

Frequency:

Annual

Record number:

2319

This discontinued index measured price changes through time for capital expenditures made by leading members of the Canadian telecommunications industry.

Data release - the last data release was December 17, 1998.

Description

This discontinued index measured price changes through time for capital expenditures made by leading members of the Canadian telecommunications industry. It estimated year-over-year change in current reproduction costs for various types of telecommunications assets. The movement of this index reflected price change between adjacent years for the same basket of goods. In preparing this index each major carrier constructs a set of indexes appropriate for their classes of capital expenditure according to a set of guidelines prepared by Statistics Canada. The published total series was derived from the series reported by each carrier.

Subjects

  • Construction price indexes
  • Machinery and equipment price indexes
  • Prices and price indexes

Data sources and methodology

Sampling

This is a sample survey.

Estimation

In order to utilize the available prices and price indexes in the most efficient manner the following assumptions are employed: a) the price movement of specified like commodities (ex. Motor Vehicles) is the same for each company in the industry, b) the price movement of commodities of small weight is the same as that of the major commodities within an account or sub-account, and c) the price movement of a class of similar commodities is the same within an account or sub-account.

Price change estimates for purchases of material and equipment, and (contract) engineering and installation labour are based mainly on each carrier's invoice records. In some cases manufacturers supply prices for models of installed equipment. Costs (direct and indirect) associated with own-account engineering and installation labour are based on each carrier's actual wage and salary rates. Prices used - materials, machinery and equipment: while most prices are mid-year spot date prices taken from invoices, some are annual average unit prices calculated on the basis of time-in-effect and taken from inventory records. Prices used - labour: wage rates paid for engineering and installation work performed on contract are taken from carriers' actual contract records. Own-account engineering and installation wage rates are derived from carriers' actual wage and salary data. Prices used - adjustments to prices: prices used generally include all costs incurred by the purchaser. Thus transportation charges, federal and provincial sales tax, customs duties and exchange rate differences have already been included in the prices used.

Weight base: the weights used are derived annually from a survey of gross additions to capital relating to the previous year's construction expenditures classified by the carriers' codes of accounts.

From 1982 forward, the index is a chain Laspeyres index. From 1976 to 1981, the index is a fixed-basket price index with 1974-76 as its basket reference period.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

In order to prevent any data disclosure, confidentiality analysis is done using the Statistics Canada Generalized Disclosure Control System (G-Confid). G-Confid is used for primary suppression (direct disclosure) as well as for secondary suppression (residual disclosure). Direct disclosure occurs when the value in a tabulation cell is composed of or dominated by few enterprises while residual disclosure occurs when confidential information can be derived indirectly by piecing together information from different sources or data series.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

The data are revised one year after release.

Data accuracy

The reliability of the Canadian Telecommunications Plant Price Index (CTPPI) series depends on several factors, some of which are not quantifiable. Heterogeneity and uniqueness of capital expenditures on machinery and equipment cause difficulties in terms of the continuity of price series and the evaluation of quality change. Several methods of pricing are used to obtain estimates of price change including model pricing of specific jobs by suppliers, examination of companies' purchasing records, use of suppliers' price change notification letters and suppliers price lists. In carrying out the pricing activities extensive use is made of the common carriers and manufacturers engineering and cost expertise to ensure that a good estimate of price change is obtained.

Documentation

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