An Analysis of the Composition of Intermediate Inputs by Industry

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by industry accounts for the United States provide industry estimates of value added, gross output, and intermediate inputs based, in part, on data from the benchmark and annual input-output (I-O) accounts for the United States. The GDP by industry data provide a decomposition of an industry’s gross output into expenditures on primary inputs--that is, value-added inputs--and expenditures on total intermediate inputs. Recently, these data have been widely used in studies of structural change and economic growth in the U.S. economy. This paper extends the information available for such studies by introducing intermediate inputs decomposed into the cost categories of energy, materials, and purchased services using a time-series of I-O “use” tables. It develops a conceptual framework for measuring intermediate-inputs price and quantity growth and then uses this framework to prepare nominal estimates, chain-type price indexes, and chain-type quantity indexes for intermediate inputs by industry and by cost category. It also presents contributions by each cost category to growth in the chain-type price and quantity indexes of gross output. Data are consistent with the published GDP by industry accounts and are presented for the years 1992-2000.