Department Store Inventory Price Index (LI) li.txt Section Listing 1. Survey Definition 2. FTP files listed in the survey directory. 3. Time series, series file, data file, & mapping file definitions and relationships 4. Series file format and field definitions 5. Data file format and field definitions 6. Mapping file formats and field definitions 7. Data Element Dictionary ================================================================================ Section 1 ================================================================================ The following is a definition of: DEPARTMENT STORE INVENTORY PRICE INDEX (LI) Survey Description: The Department Store Inventory Price Index is an inventory weighted price index of goods carried by department stores, designed for use in preparing income tax returns by department stores. Group indexes are used by stores employing the Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) Method of Accounting in conjunction with the Retail Inventory method. Treasury Decision No. 5605 (March 4, 1948) expressly permits, in accordance with certain principles laid down in the decision, the use of the Elective Inventory Method by Taxpayers employing the Retail Inventory Method. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is responsible for the technical accuracy of the index, but permission to use this index and the way in which it is used in tax returns is solely within the jurisdiction of the Internal Revenue Service. The "DOLLAR-VALUE" LIFO Method described in the IRS regulations permits valuation of Base Year Costs in terms of total dollars rather than the quantity and price of the individual items. It is in this frame that the index is useful. It makes possible the application of average price changes to an individual store's department totals. Historical data are available for Groups 1-20, the Store Total, Soft Goods and Durable Goods from January 1941 to the present. Data are available for Groups 21, 22, 23, and the Miscellaneous category from January 1986 to the present. Data were calculated for January and July only from 1941 through 1980, and monthly thereafter. Indexes are presented on a national basis for the Store Total and for 23 Groups of Departments. Three special combinations of Goods: Soft Goods, Durable Goods, and Miscellaneous have also been prepared. "Soft" Goods include Piece Goods, Apparel, and Notions. "Durables" include Furniture, House Furnishings, and Appliances. "Miscellaneous" includes Recreation and Education, Home Improvements, and Automotive Accessories. The Store Total includes all Departments in the Store, both listed in the Groups and those not specifically listed. However, Food, Candy, Liquor, and Contract Departments are excluded. The LIFO Marketbasket is derived entirely from the Consumer Price Index (CW and CU). Price data collected for CW and CU items in all kinds of stores are used for the Department Store Inventory Indexes without change. This provides a considerable saving in cost and is considered an acceptable procedure for the LIFO Index, since prices for the same item in different types of stores are directly competitive. Furthermore, authority to use the LIFO Index in income tax returns has been granted to department stores broadly defined to include specialty stores. Frequency of Observations: All data are monthly; annual averages are not available. Base Periods: January 1941 = 100 for all series except SL00021, SL00022, SL00023, and SLMISC which are January 1986 = 100. Data Characteristics: Indexes are stored to one decimal place. Updating Schedule: Updates become available near the 15th of the month following the reference month. ================================================================================== Section 2 ================================================================================== The following Department Store Inventory Price Index files are on the BLS internet in the sub-directory pub/time.series/li: li.area - Area codes mapping file li.contacts - Contacts for li survey li.data.0.Current - All current year-to-date data li.data.1.AllData - All data li.footnote - Footnote codes mapping file li.item - Item codes mapping file li.period - Period codes mapping file li.series - All series and their beginning and end dates li.txt - General information ================================================================================= Section 3 ================================================================================= The definition of a time series, its relationship to and the interrelationship among series, data and mapping files is detailed below: A time series refers to a set of data observed over an extended period of time over consistent time intervals (i.e. monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually). BLS time series data are typically produced at monthly intervals and represent data ranging from a specific consumer item in a specific geographical area whose price is gathered monthly to a category of worker in a specific industry whose employment rate is being recorded monthly, etc. The FTP files are organized such that data users are provided with the following set of files to use in their efforts to interpret data files: a) a series file (only one series file per survey) b) mapping files c) data files The series file contains a set of codes which, together, compose a series identification code that serves to uniquely identify a single time series. Additionally, the series file also contains the following series-level information: a) the period and year corresponding to the first data observation b) the period and year corresponding to the most recent data observation. The mapping files are definition files that contain explanatory text descriptions that correspond to each of the various codes contained within each series identification code. The data file contains one line of data for each observation period pertaining to a specific time series. Each line contains a reference to the following: a) a series identification code b) year in which data is observed c) period for which data is observed (M13, Q05, and S03 indicate annual averages) d) value e) footnote code (if available) ================================================================================= Section 4 ================================================================================= File Structure and Format: The following represents the file format used to define li.series. Note that the Field Numbers are for reference only; they do not exist in the database. Data files are in ASCII text format. Data elements are separated by spaces; the first record of each file contains the column headers for the data elements stored in each field. Each record ends with a new line character. Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. series_id 17 LIUR0000SL00001 2. area_code 4 0000 3. item_code 8 SL00001 4. periodicity_code 1 R 5. base_period 20 JANUARY 1941 = 100 6. begin_year 4 1941 7. begin_period 3 M01 8. end_year 4 2002 9. end_period 3 M03 The series_id (LIUR0000SL00001) can be broken out into: Code Value survey abbreviation = LI seasonal (code) = U area_code = 0000 periodicity_code = R item_code = SL00001 ================================================================================== Section 5 File Structure and Format: The following represents the file format used to define each data file. Note that the field numbers are for reference only; they do not exist in the database. Data files are in ASCII text format. Data elements are separated by spaces; the first record of each file contains the column headers for the data elements stored in each field. Each record ends with a new line character. The li.data file is partitioned into two separate files: 1. li.data.0.Current - All current year-to-date data 2. li.data.1.AllData - All data Both of the above data files have the following format: Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. series_id 17 LIUR0000SL00001 2. year 4 1941 3. period 3 M01 4. value 12 100.0 5. footnote_codes 10 It varies The series_id (LIUR0000SL00001) can be broken out into: Code Value survey abbreviation = LI seasonal (code) = U area_code = 0000 periodicity_code = R item_code = SL00001 ================================================================================ Section 6 ================================================================================ File Structure and Format: The following represents the file format used to define each mapping file. Note that the field numbers are for reference only; they do not exist in the database. Mapping files are in ASCII text format. Data elements are separated by tabs; the first record of each file contains the column headers for the data elements stored in each field. Each record ends with a new line character. File Name: li.area Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. area_code 4 0000 2. area_name 30 Text File Name: li.footnote Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. footnote_code 1 R 2. footnote_text 100 Text File Name: li.item Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. item_code 8 SL00001 2. item_name 100 Text File Name: li.period Field # /Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. period 3 M01 2. period_abbr 5 JAN 3. period_name 20 Text ========================================================================================= Section 7 ========================================================================================= DEPARTMENT STORE INVENTORY PRICE INDEX (LI) DATABASE ELEMENTS Data Element Length Value(Example) Description area_code 4 0000 Unique code used to identify a specific geographic area. area_name 30 Text Name of specific geographic Ex: MIAMI, FLA area. base_period 40 Identifies the base The actual base period used period in calculating the index. Ex: January 1941=100 begin_period 3 M01-M13 Identifies first data observation Ex: MO3=March within the first year for which (M=Monthly, M13=Annual data is available for a given Avg) time series. begin_year 4 YYYY Identifies first year for which Ex: 1975 data is available for a given time series. end_period 3 M01-M13 Identifies last data observation Ex: M03=March within the last year for which (M=Monthly, M13=Annual data is available for a given Avg) time series. end_year 4 YYYY Identifies last year for which data Ex: 1980 is available for a given time series. footnote_code 1 R Identifies footnote for the data series. footnote_codes 10 It varies Identifies footnotes for the data series. footnote_text 100 Text Contains the text of the footnote. item_code 8 SL00001 Identifies item for which data observations pertain. item_name 100 Text Full names of items. period_abbr 5 Period name Abbreviation of period name. abbreviation Ex: MAR period 3 M01-M13 Identifies period for which Ex: M03=March data is observed. (M=Monthly, M13=Annual Avg) period_name 20 Text Full name of period to which Ex: March the data observation refers. periodicity_ 1 S=Semi-Annual Frequency of data code R=Regular observation. series_id 17 LIUR0000SL00001 Code identifying the specific series. value 12 Index Price index for item. Ex: 100.0 year 4 YYYY Identifies year of observation. Ex: 1990