Inflation

The Producer Price Index — April 2026

Released May 13, 2026 · 8:30 AM ET · Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, PPI for Final Demand (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ppi.nr0.htm Table A)

The Producer Price Index for final demand rose 1.4% in April on a seasonally adjusted basis and 6.0% over the prior twelve months. The measure that strips out foods, energy, and trade services — the cleanest read on underlying producer-side pressure — rose 0.6% on the month and 4.4% year over year. The headline accelerated meaningfully from March's +0.7%; the underlying-pressure measure firmed but did not run as hot.

What's real

April's headline +1.4% was the strongest monthly print in over a year and roughly double March's +0.7%. Goods led services in April, reversing the more recent pattern: final demand goods rose 2.0% on the month while final demand services rose 1.2%.

Within goods, energy did the heavy lifting. The final demand energy index rose 7.8% on the month — by a wide margin the dominant single line in the release, and a continuation of March's +10.1% energy move. Food was muted at +0.2%. Goods less foods and energy rose 0.7% — firm, but a fraction of the energy contribution.

Within services, the standouts were transportation and warehousing at +5.0% on the month and trade services at +2.7%. The residual "services other" category — which captures the bulk of domestic service-sector pricing outside trade and transport — was nearly flat at +0.1%.

The summary measure that excludes foods, energy, and trade services rose 0.6% on the month and 4.4% year over year. That figure strips out the volatile goods categories and the margin-driven trade-services line, and is the cleanest read on underlying domestic price pressure on the producer side. It firmed in April but did not match the breadth implied by the headline.

What's noise

Trade services in PPI measure the margins captured by wholesalers and retailers, not the prices of the goods themselves. A +2.7% monthly move in trade services reflects changes in markup behavior — a separate driver from the underlying cost of production.

Energy at +7.8% is volatile by nature and frequently reverses. April followed a +10.1% March, so the back-to-back strength is notable, but two months of energy-led goods inflation does not establish a new trajectory.

The 6.0% headline year-over-year rate compares against an April 2025 base. Base effects will continue to shape the twelve-month figure regardless of the month-to-month path; the cleaner read on the trend is the three- and six-month trajectory in the underlying-pressure measure.

What it means

April PPI gave two signals at different denominators. For the monthly pulse of producer prices including the volatile categories — the +1.4% headline — April was the firmest read in over a year, led by energy goods and by transportation-and-warehousing and trade services. For the persistent underlying trend — the +0.6% measure excluding foods, energy, and trade services — pressure firmed to a still-elevated but materially more moderate pace, with the residual "other services" category nearly flat.

PPI measures prices received by producers — the input side of the supply chain. It does not map one-for-one to consumer prices, but the components most directly relevant to CPI translation are core goods, transportation services, and the broader services-less-trade aggregate. April's composition was distinctive: energy and transport-and-warehouse drove most of the monthly acceleration, while the residual services category that historically tracks underlying domestic pricing was essentially unchanged.

The clean summary: April's headline ran hot, led by energy goods and transport services, with trade-services margins widening alongside; the underlying-pressure measure firmed but did not accelerate to the same degree. The composition — energy- and margin-led rather than broad-based — is what distinguishes this print from one where pressure builds evenly across categories.