ISTAT - Istituto Nazionale di Statistica
Euro-SDMX Metadata Structure Definition (ESMS_MSD 3.0 ESTAT)
Producer prices in industry
2013 - A0
1. Contact
1.1 Contact organisation

National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT)

1.2 Contact organisation unit

Division for Short Term Economic Statistics

Unit SCI/E

1.3 Contact name
1.4 Contact person function
1.5 Contact mail address

Via Torino, 6
I - 00184 Rome

1.6 Contact email address
1.7 Contact phone number
1.8 Contact fax number
2. Metadata update
2.1 Metadata last certified
10/06/2014
2.2 Metadata last posted
26/06/2014
2.3 Metadata last update
26/06/2014
3. Statistical presentation
3.1 Data description

“Indice dei prezzi alla produzione dei prodotti industriali venduti sul mercato interno”
This index measures the average producer price development of industrial products sold on domestic market, at the initial stage of commercialization. The purpose of this index is to provide information on prices over the business cycle.
It is also used as a deflator and for updating contracts in the private sector.

3.2 Classification system

NACE Rev. 2.

3.3 Coverage - sector
Activities covered NACE Rev. 2 Sections B to E are covered by the output prices data. Indexes are not required for the following Groups or Classes of NACE Rev. 2: 07.21, 24.46, 25.4, 30.1, 30.3, 30.4 and 38.3.
Size classes covered All enterprises.
3.4 Statistical concepts and definitions
List and definition of variables The list of products is made up of about one-thousand items (ProdCom). Prices, about ten thousand price series, are collected by a list of about 3500 enterprises.
Planned changes in information collected None
Accounting conventions Data are collected for products manufactured and sold on the domestic market. Reporting units are the industrial enterprises. Export and import prices are excluded. By definition, the prices are the effective transaction prices surveyed on the day the orders are made (collected prices are registered at the moment of contract). Prices are ex-factory or warehouse, excluding taxes (VAT), customs duties or subsidies. Other sale conditions are defined by the most common contracts.
3.5 Statistical unit
Reporting unit Industrial enterprise
Observation unit(s) Manufactured industrial enterprise's producer price
3.6 Statistical population

Not available.

3.7 Reference area

Whole national territory.

3.8 Coverage - Time

Date of first use as a source is 1981. Data are disseminated according to the NACE 2 classification at four digit level since January 2000

3.9 Base period

Index is chain-linked. The reference base year is 2010.

4. Unit of measure

Indices

5. Reference Period

Monthly

6. Institutional Mandate
6.1 Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
Legal basis

National level: This is one of the compulsory surveys fixed every year by a Decree of the President of the Republic (D.P.R.).


European level: Regulation n. 1165 of 1998 and subsequent modifications and integrations

Obligation on units to provide data Surveys are mandatory. Penalties are foreseen for non-response.
Planned changes in legal basis, obligation to respond and frame used None.
6.2 Institutional Mandate - data sharing

This indicator is part of official data shown at page http://www3.istat.it/fmi/ITALY-NSDP.html and correspond to the data described on the International Monetary Fund's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB). Explanation of the DSBB and the statistical standards to which Italy has committed are pubblished on http://dsbb.imf.org/

7. Confidentiality
7.1 Confidentiality - policy
Dissemination of terms and conditions under which official statistics are produced, including confidentiality of individual responses Confidentiality provisions are explicitly stated in the ISTAT President’s letter attached to data collection questionnaire along with references to different acts on statistics. Links to relevant acts on statistics are presented on the website of Sistan - National Statistical System - (http://www.sistan.it/index.php?id=203).
7.2 Confidentiality - data treatment

None of the activities covered are regarded as confidential at the 3-digit level.

8. Release policy
8.1 Release calendar

Every year, in December ISTAT publishes a release calendar providing the precise release dates for the coming year. The calendar is distributed to the press and is available free of charge to interested parties.

8.2 Release calendar access
8.3 Release policy - user access
Simultaneous release to all interested parties Data are released simultaneously to all interested parties by issuing the press release "Prezzi alla produzione dei prodotti industriali" which is provided, on an embargo basis, to the media at a press conference (using “locked room” method) 30 minutes prior to general release. The press release (Italian version and short English version) is subsequently posted on the ISTAT Internet website (http://www.istat.it/en/archive/production+prices)
Identification of internal government access to data before release No pre-release access.
Transmission to Eurostat and further use of the statistics Data are sent to Eurostat according to required standards (by GESMES format) at the same time as the press release. Data are transmitted once per month: provisional data for the month t-1 and final data for the month t-2.
The short term information is also used for quarterly and annual National Accounts.
9. Frequency of dissemination

Data are disseminated monthly.

10. Accessibility and clarity
10.1 Dissemination format - News release

A monthly press release "Prezzi alla produzione dei prodotti industriali”, including a breakdown for domestic market, non-domestic market and total.

 

10.2 Dissemination format - Publications

No other publications except press releases.

10.3 Dissemination format - online database

The on-line database I.Stat is open and free, statistics are organised by theme in a two-level hierarchical tree. Data are presented in aggregate form in multidimensional tables; acting on variables, reference periods and the arrangement of heads and sides users can create custom tables and graphs. The system can be searched by keyword, theme and region.
A wide range of standard metadata facilitates the retrieval and understanding of statistics by users.

More information available in the User Guide http://dati.istat.it/ModalHelp/Istat/WBOS%20User%20Guide%20%28EN%29.PDF

10.4 Dissemination format - microdata access

Not available.

10.5 Dissemination format - other

Data are sent to Eurostat

10.6 Documentation on methodology
Dissemination of documentation on methodology and sources used in preparing statistics Short description of the methodology and characteristics of the survey is contained in the technical explanatory note attached to the press release updated regularly.
A description of methodology and sources used in preparing statistics is also contained in the Information System for Survey Documentation and Quality Control (Siqual); it is available on ISTAT's Internet website http://siqual.istat.it/SIQual/lang.do?language=UK. This system manages qualitative information related to each single phase of a survey's production process (http://siqual.istat.it/SIQual/visualizza.do?id=0033800).
Description of standard tables produced Monthly output price are disseminated at the 4-digit NACE Rev.2 level with the MIGs breakdown too.
10.7 Quality management - documentation

More information about procedures applied for quality management and quality assessment in the document "Quality Guidelines For Statistical Processes" - December 2012

http://www.istat.it/en/files/2011/11/QualityGuidelines_EngVers_1.11.pdf

11. Quality management
11.1 Quality assurance

Essential points of Istat quality policy are: process quality, product quality, documentation, respect for respondents, strengthening of statistical literacy, users' orientation.

For more details: http://www.istat.it/en/about-istat/quality

11.2 Quality management - assessment

In 2010 this survey was submitted to an audit on quality in a testing phase http://www.istat.it/en/tools/data-quality/audit

12. Relevance
12.1 Relevance - User Needs

The main users are: Eurostat (STS Regulation); Internal users (especially National Accounts team); Media; Researchers and students; Enterprises; Trade unions.

12.2 Relevance - User Satisfaction

Not available.

12.3 Completeness

Eurostat's requirements in terms of time series are fulfilled.

13. Accuracy
13.1 Accuracy - overall

The samples are designed with the cut-off method and therefore sampling errors cannot be measured. Non-sampling errors are reduced or eliminated in the collection phase both using an electronic questionnaire that helps debugging and aiming at an increase of the response rate of enterprises. 

13.2 Sampling error

It is not possible to compute sampling errors because a non-probability sampling method (cut-off) is used.

13.3 Non-sampling error
Response rate The response rate is about 90%.
Actions to speed up or increase the rate of response On the 15th day of the month following the reference period reminders are sent to non-respondents by an automatic internal procedure (sending email and fax). Sometimes non-respondents are contacted directly by phone.
14. Timeliness and punctuality
14.1 Timeliness
Timeliness When first released (30 days after the end of the referring period), data are provisional. These data are subject to revision and 15 days after the first release a second release provides the final data.
Timetable of data collection The deadline for replies is approximately the 15th day of the month following the reference month.
14.2 Punctuality

All releases delivered according to the timetable.

15. Coherence and comparability
15.1 Comparability - geographical

Not applicable, only national level.

15.2 Comparability - over time

Time series are available on I.stat since January 2000 (http://dati.istat.it/Index.aspx?lang=en).

15.3 Coherence - cross domain
Dissemination of information that support statistical cross-checks and provide assurance of reasonableness None.
Confrontation with other data sets None
15.4 Coherence - internal

PPI is a system of five variables, algebraically coherent; three of them are surveyed (domestic market, non-domestic market euro zone, non-domestic market non euro zone). The other two variables are compiled as weighted arithmetic mean of the surveyed ones. In particular, total non-domestic market is a weighted arithmetic mean of euro and non-euro zone; the overall variable is a weighted mean of domestic market and total non-domestic market. Further, each variable is computed as weighted average mean (Laspeyred type index) of sub-indexes, therefore internal coherence is straightforward. Moreover the coherence is achieved annually updating weights (indexes are annually chain linked).

16. Cost and Burden

14 persons work at Istat for the unit SCI/E, responsible among others for the producer price index survey.

17. Data revision
17.1 Data revision - policy

On a monthly basis, provisional and final indexes are disseminated. Data concerning the current month are provisional while data referring to the previous months are final. No other revisions are calculated.

17.2 Data revision - practice

Generally, major changes in methodology, sources and statistical techniques are announced in ad hoc publications.
Advance notification of methodological changes is also provided through seminars and papers disseminated throughout the scientific community.

18. Statistical processing
18.1 Source data
Type of source Data are collected through a statistical survey.
Frame on which the source is based The PRODCOM annual survey and the annual Survey on Enterprises accounts
Sample or census Sample (based on a non-probabilistic design).
Criteria for stratification The sample is drawn by quotas, calculated to guarantee a sufficient coverage in terms of turnover.
Threshold values and percentages The transmitted indices represent 90% of the total value added of Section C of NACE Rev. 2 in the 2010 base year.
Frequency of updating the sample The sample of products and the list of enterprises are updated every five years.
18.2 Frequency of data collection

Data collection is monthly.

18.3 Data collection
Questionnaires used in the survey The questionnaire is identified by the initials “Mod. Istat P311”. On the top of the questionnaire the name of survey is also specified: "Rilevazione mensile dei prezzi alla produzione dei prodotti industriali venduti sul mercato interno" (Monthly survey on producer price of industrial products sold on domestic market)
Planned changes in national questionnaires None.
Data collection media Data are collected using a web site questionnaire at the address https://prezzi.istat.it/interno; in some cases data are still collected  by fax or e-mail.
Planned changes in data collection methodology None.
18.4 Data validation

Data validation is carried out on:

- Prices by a guided and checked data-entry procedures that allows to eliminate the incompleteness errors that could occur during the recording phases and to identify the outlier prices (filtering method);

- Trend of indices by comparison between the percentage change on previous month, the percentage change on corresponding month of previous year and a similar product index.

18.5 Data compilation
Estimates for non-response Data for non-respondents are estimated.
Estimates for grossing-up to population levels None
Type of index The chained Laspeyres index is compiled by steps:
(a) firstly, by calculating the price relatives, i.e. the ratios between the surveyed price at time t and the average price at time t=0 (base year);
(b) price relatives are aggregated by simple geometric mean in order to derive the elementary product index;
(c) calculation of the Laspeyres indices starting from the Class level (4 digit of the NACE Rev. 2) up to the overall index.
Adjustments for quality changes: when a price variation is due to a change in the price determining characteristics, a quality change occurs; the overlap algorithm is applied.
New price quotations are introduced only when the index base is updated.
Seasonal items: the most recent price collected is held constant until new prices are reported for the same season.
Method of weighting and chaining The weights system is defined at national level. For the higher aggregation level (from the 4-digit level upwards) the weighting coefficients are determined on the basis of (billed) domestic sales of own-produced manufacturing products according to the Survey on “Enterprises Accounting Systems” (the main annual SBS survey). For lower levels, the PRODCOM survey is used as the source.
Planned changes in production methods Seasonally adjusted indeces are planned.
18.6 Adjustment

Seasonally adjusted indices are not yet calculated.

19. Comment

Not available.