Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (French NSI).

Direction des statistiques d'entreprises \ Département des statistiques de court terme \ Division des indices de prix à la production.

(Directorate of Business Statistics\ Department of Short Term Statistics\ Division of Producer Price Indices).

INSEE

Division IPP - timbre E310

88 avenue Verdier

CS 70058

92541 Montrouge cedex

France

Name of indicator/source: Import prices of industrial products, collected by the OPISE (Observation of Prices in Industry and SErvices) survey

Products are classified according to the French Product Classification (Classification des Produits Française : CPF rev. 2.1), a French adaptation of the European Classification of Products by Activity (CPA rev. 2.1), but using a more detailed breakdown.

Activities covered: For import price indices of industrial products, the EBS regulation requirements comprise sections B to D of the CPA revision 2 of 2008, with the exclusion of the following products:

Not all products are covered by the survey, even among those requested by the EBS regulation. Conversely, import prices for C30.1 are released, even though this is not requested by the EBS regulation.

When prices are not gathered for an industry, they are imputed, so that the calculation of the "total industry" import prices takes into account the entire scope.

Importance of classes covered: In 2022, the OPISE survey covers about 97.0% of imports in the European scope and 95.5% of total industry (sections B to D).

Import price indices of industrial products track the development of transaction prices (converted to euros, therefore including the exchange effects) of goods and services from foreign industrial (and trade) activities sold on the French market. The measurement covers as much as possible cost, insurance and freight (CIF) prices, which is to say that it is assessed at the French border exclusive of import taxes, in line with European regulation No 2020/1197 (nonetheless, the price is extracted from firms databases, therefore it is more an « invoice price » than a « CIF price »). All imports are taken into account, whether they are internal to groups or not.
Field surveyors regularly visit firms in order to define the elementary products and the kinds of “markets” to be included in the basket. The selected transactions are representative of the price change of a family of products. In practice, transactions are products with the biggest turnover within each family. The aim of Insee is to obtain a price close to the real price of transaction.

Planned changes in information collected: None.

Accounting conventions: The reported price often corresponds to the average price of the product bought over one calendar month.

Reporting unit: Firms. Sometimes, several departments of a single firm (due to their organization) or a head office of a group for its affiliates.

Observation unit(s): Family of transactions = fine items of products x typology of "markets" (countries, kinds of providers).

The statistical population is defined by the customs statistics. There were 186,000 French firms importing industrial products in 2021.

The survey covers French economic territory, including Corsica and overseas departments (Guadeloupe, French Guyana, Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion). Conversely, overseas territories (New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna) are excluded.

Date of first use as a source: The first import index was published in June 2007. Import prices were then backcasted by imports Unit Value Indices.

It is necessary to distinguish two different levels of aggregation: aggregation of representative transactions to four-digit CPF rev 2.1 levels and aggregation of CPF rev 2.1 levels to a higher CPF rev 2.1 level. These two levels of aggregation are called respectively basic aggregations and higher aggregations.

For basic aggregations, weights correspond to turnover of the year preceding the visit of the field officer.

For higher aggregations, indices are chain-linked. Weights used for compiling year Y indices stem from year Y-2 national accounts when Y>=2012, and from Y-1 national accounts when 2006<=Y<=2011. Before 2006, weights correspond to 2005 national accounts. The reference of production price indices is 100 in 2015 (annual average), so indices are labeled "base 2015".

Indices (reference 100 in 2015) on prices expressed in euros.

The periodicity is monthly

Legal basis:

The producer price indices are ruled by the European Business Statistics (EBS) Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 on 27 November 2019, followed by the Commission Implementing Regulation 2020/1197.

A yearly visa from the Minister of economy is given, according to the 1951 law about statistics (2023 visa: 2023M0230EC)

This visa also covers producer prices indices in industry, services producer price indices and buildings’ maintenance and improvement work price index (~ division 43).

Obligation on units to provide data: The survey is compulsory. Non-respondents are sometimes fined.

Planned changes in legal basis, obligation to respond and frame used: None.

The statistical service of French customs provides Insee with a detailed file by firm, kind of product and partner country.

The data is shared with Eurostat, following the EBS regulation.

These industrial import prices, combined with agricultural import prices, provide import prices by SITC sections, which OECD downloads on the Insee website.

Dissemination of terms and conditions under which official statistics are produced, including confidentiality of individual responses:

The import industrial price indices are regulated by the 1951 law about statistics. Every surveyed firm is provided with information on statistical confidentiality.

Confidential data are not published. That happens in two cases: either less than three units purchase products of the index or one single unit represents more than 85% of the purchases in the product family.

Advance dissemination of release calendar : Import industrial price indices are published around m+30 (last working day of the following month).

A monthly calendar is produced for the four following months. It can be found on the INSEE website: https://www.insee.fr/en/information/2107811?debut=0.

Indices disseminated on the Insee website and data transmitted to Eurostat are strictly identical.

Data are transmitted to Eurostat the day before the national release (under "embargo"). The transmission to Eurostat uses the SDMX format.

Government has no access to data under embargo.

Monthly

A 5-page "Informations Rapides" can be found online on the INSEE website.

They cover domestic PPI, non-domestic PPI and import prices.

National paper publications: No longer available on paper.

National electronic dissemination: See above our comments on press release; the 5-page "Informations Rapides" is on the INSEE website:
both in French: https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques?debut=0&theme=30&conjoncture=44
and in English: https://www.insee.fr/en/statistiques?debut=0&theme=30&conjoncture=44

In base 2010, series can be accessed on https://www.insee.fr/en/statistiques/series/102776019.

In base 2015, series can be accessed on https://www.insee.fr/en/statistiques/series/108665892.

Researchers can ask for microdata, but they need to come on site, with a special procedure.

Data are also available on: https://www.insee.fr/en/information/2512785.

Data are sent to Eurostat the day before the national release.

Some methodology can be accessed on: https://www.insee.fr/en/metadonnees/source/s1133.

The complete and detailed methodology is also available on : Producer Price Indices | Insee

A "quality file" for year 2014 is available in French on Insee website https://www.insee.fr/en/metadonnees/source/indicateur/p1639/description.

The European statistics code of practice is implemented as far as possible. In particular, selective editing is implemented in accordance with the EDIMBUS manual.

The main quality problems are linked to one-off products, misunderstandings between firms and Insee about some elementary price series and non-response.

The DQAF of French PPI (very similar to import prices for source and technique) can be found on the IMF framework:
http://dsbb.imf.org/pages/sdds/DQAFBase.aspx?ctycode=FRA&catcode=PPI00

Uses of import price indices :

- The European Central Bank (ECB) analyzes flows inside and outside the euro area.

- National Accounts use them as deflators.

- Moreover, businesses may use some of them for contract indexation.

- Businesses or macroeconomists can use them to track movements of import prices and materials' costs in their field, and evaluate their competitiveness compared to their competitors.

- International organisations such as Eurostat can compare them among Member States.

Several complaints are expressed every year about some PPI series by firms that use them for contract indexation.

The OPISE survey covers CPA4 industries that amount to 97.0% of 2022 imports according to the European scope.

As far as we know, all Eurostat requirements are fulfilled.

The main sources of error are the following ones:

- Non probability-sampling error (a "cut-off" technique is used);

- Aggregation of indices based on too few representative products;

- Misunderstandings concerning price questionnaires;

- Non-response;

- Errors in data processing;

- Handling of quality changes in products;

- Handling of new products entering and old one exiting from the market;

- Measurement difficulties in unique/one-off products;

- Uncertainty of imputation models.

The revision of "total industry" import price indices is rarely higher than 0.2% a month in absolute terms. No bias on revisions has been observed.

There is no sampling error strictly speaking as France uses a cut-off technique to select firms.

In every CPF4 commodity-group, main purchasers are surveyed. It could be a source of bias.

Multiple representative products may be identified when field surveyors visit firms. Customs database is used for sampling, which can avoid both undercoverage and limit overcoverage when an activity is "refreshed". As time goes by, undercoverage may grow: new importing firms are not surveyed, new products are bought, and they are seldom surveyed (firms are able to "change products"', but they don't do it so frequently).

The list of representative products are discussed face-to-face between firms and field surveyors: this helps improve the response rate and the quality of the survey. Then, firms fill prices every month, on an Internet (or paper) form. If necessary, field surveyors are likely to contact the data provider long after the visit.

The main reasons for non-response are: representative products imperfectly defined, no purchase during the period under review, difficulties to estimate prices because of an unsuitable information system, change of contact inside firms, momentary "oblivion"... Non-responses are estimated through close groups of products, so as to limit their impact on aggregates.

The weighted response rate is approximately 74%. Some actions to speed up or increase the rate of response have been implemented. Web-based data collection offers a quicker response time and is favoured. Now approximately 97% of surveys are sent by Internet.

Data editing helps focus on price changes that have greatest impact on aggregates. Consequently, other errors may not be seen.

No specific models are used.

Timeliness: Indices are released near the 30th of the month following the reference month. They are provisional for three months. All markets, fine details and aggregates are available at the same time.

Timetable of data collection: Questionnaires for month M prices are sent at the end of month M. The response is to be made before the 10th of M+1. For internet respondents, if they do not complete the questionnaire, they can receive up to two reminder e-mails. The first is around the 10 of M+1. If they still do not answer, the second is sent to them around the 20 of M+1. For paper respondents, only one follow-up letter is sent around the 15 of M+1. If necessary, a follow-up call can be made until the deadline.

French release dates are always respected, with one exception in January 2009 due to a strike of Insee's civil servants.

The provision of price series to Eurostat is generally punctual, but some technical problems have induced an exceptional delay at the end of October 2013 (data were finally sent on the beginning of November 2013, indeed).

Overseas departments are included in French economic territory, whereas overseas territories are excluded.

Import price indices are aggregated and chain-linked since January 2005. Before, they have been backcasted with the help of import PPI in base and reference 2005, with a fixed base technique, relying on weights of year 2005.

Industrial import prices are used to compile quarterly and yearly national accounts.

For yearly national accounts, "implicit import prices" (that is to say the ratio imports in value / imports in volume) may differ from yearly import prices when uses and supply balance require to do so.

No discrepancies between aggregates and sub-aggregates have been observed.

The cost of PPI and import prices for Insee is about 9 Full Time Equivalent of a category A statistician, 21 Full Time Equivalent of category B or C civil servants, plus 9 field surveyors (assimilated to category A).

The average burden is estimated at 15 minutes per month for a respondent.

The policy of revision is strictly identical for both national release and data transmitted to Eurostat.

The revisions are announced at the time of change (a ‘r’ near the index shows that it has been modified since the previous release).

Scheduled revisions

Indices are released near the 30th of the month following the reference month (M+30).

Firms are still able to change their price for the reference month for three months, so that indices may be updated at M+30, M+60 and M+90 respectively. 

They also may be revised when CPF4 weights are changed (usually in May, so that indices from January to March may be revised with the May release).

Non-scheduled revisions

Afterwards, indices are only revised if a big mistake is discovered. Then, a specific note is published on website: https://www.insee.fr/en/information/2886952 (or in French: https://www.insee.fr/fr/information/2862832), commenting the reason why and the impact.

Our press release discloses the revision brought to the aggregates' price changes for the 3 previous months.

Generally, consecutive values are close, there are few revisions : less than 0.2 point for aggregates.

Figure : revisions between April 2021 and March 2023

Type of source: OPISE statistical survey, monthly for industrial import price indices.

Frame on which the source is based: Customs statistics.

Sample or census: A two-stage sample is drawn: the first stage selects firms, the second one chooses representative goods among the imports of firms (during a visit of the firm by the field surveyors).

Criteria for stratification: The largest firms are selected until at least 30% and most often 50% of the group of goods total imports is covered. Units that do not fall within these criteria might be selected to obtain a better coverage of a particular product family, especially when previously selected units appear to be misclassified. The choice of the products is made by field surveyors when they visit the firm. In accordance with the contact person inside the firm, a set of representative products is selected.

Threshold values and percentages: Firms with amounts less than EUR 3 million are generally excluded from the scope.

Frequency of updating the sample: Every 5 years, for each class of CPA (4-digit level).

Monthly, sometimes quarterly (especially when the product is not repeatedly purchased every month).

Questionnaires used in the survey: The questionnaire is specific to the firm, but is built with a unique form for the whole sample (including import prices and SPPI). The questionnaire is pre-filled with the information previously received from the field surveyors and the prices communicated by firms themselves for previous periods. Available both on paper and on INSEE’s website via a single entry point for business surveys (https://auth.insee.net/auth/realms/questionnaire-entreprises/protocol/openid-connect/auth?response_type=code&client_id=coltrane-portail&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fentreprises.stat-publique.fr%2Fportail%2F&state=18d74d3a-065a-41e4-82df-57a0b667a19f&login=true&scope=openid)

Planned changes in national questionnaires: None.

Data collection media: Both postal and electronic data collection are available. Respondents are given access to the website  (https://auth.insee.net/auth/realms/questionnaire-entreprises/protocol/openid-connect/auth?response_type=code&client_id=coltrane-portail&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fentreprises.stat-publique.fr%2Fportail%2F&state=18d74d3a-065a-41e4-82df-57a0b667a19f&login=true&scope=openid)

Planned changes in data collection methodology: None.

Selective editing is applied in line with EDIMBUS manual, and a "Canadian questionnaire" is implemented online in order to collect reasons for price changes bigger than 10% in absolute value.

Estimates for quality change linked with new products:

Many techniques are used, depending on the context:
— Monthly overlap whenever possible;
— Imputation of the average price change in the series (by default);
— Prices kept constant (for tariffs preferably);
— Imputation of the average price change for the same respondent;
— Selection of another product from the same respondent;
— Selection of a similar product from another respondent;
— Imputation of the price change of the main raw material.
When a product disappears, the firm is contacted in order to supply data for a new one.

Estimates for grossing-up to population levels: None.

Type of index: Chain-linked Laspeyres indices in reference 100 in 2015 (annual average), from CPA 4-digit upwards.

Method of weighting and chaining: The weights are proportional to the imports on the relevant zone (euro or non-euro area). This information is obtained from national accounts at aggregated levels and from the customs statistics at CPA 4-digit. Below the CPA 4-digit level, the aggregation is done according to the information gathered by field surveyors during visits.

WDA, SA and other calculations

Gross data only. Data are neither working days adjusted nor seasonally adjusted.

Explanations can be accessed on: https://www.insee.fr/en/metadonnees/source/indicateur/p1639/description

IMF DQAF on PPI in English can be accessed on http://dsbb.imf.org/pages/sdds/DQAFBase.aspx?ctycode=FRA&catcode=PPI00.