I.Purpose:

The monthly report includes two subjects of Taichung: the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Construction Cost Index (CCI). The CPI is compiled to measure changes in the price level of consumer goods and services purchased by households, and the CCI measures the average price movement of material and labor costs for construction. This monthly report is published in order to present changes in purchasing power of households and movements of construction costs in Taichung as reference for governments at all levels, organizations, institutions, and individual readers.

II.Publication:

The monthly report has been published since January 2013. In principle, the indices and the concise analysis of each month are released on the 5^th of next month and the report is published on the 20^th of next month.  

III.Survey Items:

     CPI：368 items are contained in the index system. These items are selected by the importance of each item to the total living expenditure.

     CCI：115 items are contained in the index system. These items are selected by the importance of each item to the construction costs.

IV.Survey Localities:

The price surveys are conducted in the area of Taichung City.

V.Survey dates:

    CPI：The indices are calculated based on the actual prices for transactions which have been obtained by interviewing retailers. In principle, the surveys are conducted on the 2^nd , 5^th ,and 8^th  day of each ten days.

    CCI：The indices are calculated based on the actual prices for transactions which have been collected by enumerators. In principle, the surveys for material costs are conducted on the 4^th day of each ten days and labor costs on the 15^th of each month.

VI.Index Calculation:

     CPI：Indices are calculated by Laspeyres formula and the base period is the calendar year 2016. The average monthly expenditure by item per household is used as the weights, which is obtained from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey in Taichung in 2016. Except for the general index, 7 major groups and 40 subgroups indices are available.  

     CCI：Indices are calculated by Laspeyres formula with the year 2016 as the base period. The allocated values on materials and labor affairs within the construction projects for the respective base period are used as the weights. Except for the general index, 2 major groups and 12 subgroups indices are available. 

VII.Commodities Priced:

     CPI：The indices are calculated based on the actual retail prices and service charges for transactions.

     CCI：The indices are calculated based on the prices of materials and labor costs which are mainly the wholesale prices and the actual payment for those working in the construction industry respectively.

VIII.Revision:

Due to late reports and corrections by respondents, all data are subject to revision within 3 months after publication. The figures revised are marked with “r” while “－” stands for zero.

IX.Symbols:

The symbols used in this monthly report are described as follows:

“－”: zero or not available

“r”: revised figure

“…”: not yet published

“◎”: change in merchandise number or price code

“0”: less than a half unit