Price Indexes and Discount Rates

Updated 01/29/2010

Price Index Web Sources

Quick spreadsheet of the most common indexes and discount rates (XLS, 29.5 KB) updated 1/29/2010

CPI: 1913 to current InflationData.com
ENR: 1908 to current Engineering News-Record.com
Bureau of Reclamation Construction Cost Trends
US Census Bureau Houses Under Construction Fixed Weighted Index
    (look under methodology tab).
Water Resource Project Discount Rates
Part 613 NRCS National Resource Economics Handbook, Payment Schedules (PDF, 286 KB)
The FY2010 Water Resource Project Discount Rate is 4.375%.
OMB Circular No. A-94, Discount Rates For Cost-Effectiveness, Lease Purchase, and Related Analyses.
OMB Circular No. A-94, APPENDIX C (Revised December,  2009), Discount Rates For Cost-Effectiveness, Lease Purchase, and Related Analyses.  Use 3.9% for all non-PL566 watershed analysis for FY2011 payment schedules and other analysis, 4.2% for 2010. 
Land Values for all US counties 1850 to 1992.  Use NASS and the Ag. Census for later land values.
Current Normalized Prices for use by Federal agencies in water and related land resource planning.
Historic Normalized Prices
Spreadsheet for calculating the updated points for the Recreational Unit Day Values (xls, 18.5 KB)
NRCS Interest and Annuity Spreadsheet (xls, 267 KB)
Wallet Size Amortization Tables (xls, 45.5 KB)
Producer Price Indexes: Product- and Input-Specific (xls, 60KB)
Steps to obtain Producer Prices Index data (xls, 26KB)
Economagic Public Economic Data Site

Agricultural Prices and Indexes are available through the National Agricultural Statistics Service Home Page. On the Home page, select "Publications". On the publications page, select "Reports by Commodity". On the Reports by Commodity page, scroll down to "Prices Paid by Farmers", then click on "Look up Reports". Next click on "July Annual to get the Annual Agricultural Price and index Report. This will give you the index data you are looking for. There is also a wealth of other information available through the NASS Home Page.  Agricultural Prices

This spreadsheet includes employment, earnings, and gross sector production by industrial sector, by state and MSA annually 1969 to 1993, plus forecasts through 2045. Some items, like content (not buildings) flood damages, can include future increases based on these GDP type projections. BEA has since discontinued their Regional Projections Program: Discontinuation of the Regional Projections Program

Construction Costs Indexes include:

• Engineering News Review(ENR) 1908 to current.
• Table #1189, available in the Statistical Abstract of the United States. A Project Management Text with a good discussion of Costs Associated with Constructed Facilities.
• Bureau of Reclamation Construction Cost Trends
• US Census Bureau Houses Under Construction Fixed Weighted Index
      (look under methodology tab).
• Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index Industry Data, New Warehouse Building Construction
       Notes: Producer Price Index Introduced for the Nonresidential Building Construction Sector—NAICS 236221

Principles and Guidelines for Water Resource Projects (PDF 1.18 MB)

• US Army Corps of Engineers Planning Information
• OMB Circular No. A-94, Discount Rates For Cost-Effectiveness, Lease Purchase, and Related Analyses
• OMB Circular No. A-94, APPENDIX C (Revised January 2006, Discount Rates For Cost-Effectiveness, Lease Purchase, and Related Analyses.
• Freddie Mac Weekly, 30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgages Since 1971
• Current Agricultural Interest Rates, Operating, Land, Equipment from Minneapolis Fed