Home > News > News Release Archive > 2006 > Technical Note

Technical Note

Available for this release: Entire Note: (PDF - 29 KB)

                               Technical Note
                           Gross Domestic Product
                       Second Quarter of 2006 (Final)
                              September 28, 2006

This technical note provides background information about the source data and 
estimating methods used to produce the estimates presented in the GDP news release. 
The complete set of estimates for the second quarter is available on BEA's Web site at 
www.bea.gov; a brief summary of "highlights" is also posted on the Web site.  In a few 
weeks, the estimates will be published in BEA's monthly journal, the Survey of Current 
Business, along with a more detailed analysis of the estimates ("GDP and the 
Economy").  


Sources of Revision to Components of Real GDP
     
Real GDP growth in the second quarter was 2.6 percent, which was 0.3 percentage 
point less than that in the preliminary estimate.  The downward revision to real GDP 
mainly reflected a downward revision to inventory investment and an upward revision to 
imports of services:

     *  The downward revision to inventory investment reflected revised Census Bureau
        inventory data for June, revised Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price
        indexes for April, and revised Department of Agriculture farm income data.
     *  The upward revision to imports of services reflected new BEA survey data for the
        second quarter and revised data for the first quarter.

The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 4.0 percent in the second 
quarter, the same as in the preliminary estimate.


Corporate Profits

Profits from current production increased $22.7 billion, or 1.4 percent, in the second 
quarter, compared with an increase of $175.6 billion, or 12.6 percent, in the first.



Brent R. Moulton  
Associate Director for National Economic Accounts
Bureau of Economic Analysis  
(202) 606-9606