The price index for producer durables depicts the short-term, medium-term and long-term price trends in effect in Austria when machinery and equipment (producer durables) are acquired for use in the production process. Producer durables include, for example, passenger cars for a taxi company, lathes for an engine factory, freight/passenger wagons for the ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways), etc. These indices are based on the net investor price, which is the figure that a company has to spend on an investment plan (purchase of machinery, equipment, etc.) after deduction of customary terms and conditions within the industry, plus any costs for transfer to the site, installation costs, etc., in other words the “actual purchase price” (cost price without VAT).
The producer durables price index has been an essential tool for national accounts since the early 1980s for deflating gross fixed capital formation.