The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington rose 0.4 percent in August and September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that a 0.6-percent increase in the index for all items less food and energy was the biggest contributor, though food prices were also up, rising 0.4 percent. Partially countering these increases, energy costs declined 1.4 percent in August and September. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

During the year ended in September 2018, the all items CPI-U rose 2.4 percent and the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.6 percent. The annual rates of gain slowed for both series from the previous 12-month increases. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.4 percent in August and September, after edging up 0.1 percent in June and July. Both sub-components contributed to the current bimonthly increase as food at home (grocery store) prices rose 0.5 percent and prices for food away from home increased 0.3 percent.

During the 12 months ending in September 2018, total food prices fell 0.5 percent, reflecting opposing movements between the two sub-components. A 3.0-percent decline in grocery store prices was partially offset by a 2.0-percent increase in prices for food away from home.

Energy

The energy index fell 1.4 percent in August and September, following a 0.2-percent increase in June and July. The current decrease was the result of declines in household energy costs as electricity prices fell 4.4 percent and natural gas costs declined 1.1 percent. In contrast, motor fuel prices rose 0.4 percent.

During the year ended in September 2018, the energy index increased 4.9 percent. Higher prices for both electricity (6.4 percent) and motor fuel (4.8 percent) were factors in the energy index rise, while a 13.5-percent decline in natural gas costs partially countered those increases.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent in August and September after registering a 0.3-percent decline in June and July. The increased cost of apparel, up 12.4 percent, was the biggest contributor to the advance. Higher prices for shelter (0.5 percent) were another important factor in the rise, as were increases in the indexes for recreation (0.7 percent) and other goods and services (1.3 percent). In contrast, prices fell for medical care, down 0.3 percent, the first bimonthly decline in this index since January 2018.

From September 2017 to September 2018, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.6 percent. Higher shelter costs, up 3.7 percent, were responsible for the largest share of the annual rise, but increases in recreation (6.6 percent) and other goods and services (4.9 percent) also contributed.

The November 2018 Consumer Price Index for All Items for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is scheduled to be released Wednesday, December 12, 2018.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is published bi-monthly. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 75 urban areas across the country from about 5,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 retail establishments--department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details, see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch17.pdf.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. NOTE: Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas, Core Based Statistical Area includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise Counties.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods,
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from -
	Jul. 2018	Aug. 2018	Sep. 2018	Sep. 2017	Jul. 2018	Aug. 2018
All items	233.570	-	234.563	2.4	0.4	-
All items (1967 = 100)	732.696	-	735.811
Food and beverages	251.892	-	253.652	-0.5	0.7	-
Food	246.529	-	247.544	-0.5	0.4	-
Food at home	211.507	212.656	212.576	-3.0	0.5	0.0
Cereals and bakery products	250.801	-	255.424	-	1.8	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	244.402	-	245.949	-	0.6	-
Dairy and related products	182.832	-	190.021	-	3.9	-
Fruits and vegetables	203.355	-	203.360	-	0.0	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	178.213	-	181.064	-	1.6	-
Other food at home	198.898	-	195.793	-	-1.6	-
Food away from home	299.482	-	300.428	2.0	0.3	-
Alcoholic beverages	314.804	-	337.220	0.5	7.1	-
Housing	224.944	-	225.016	3.2	0.0	-
Shelter	249.860	251.428	250.989	3.7	0.5	-0.2
Rent of primary residence	267.696	269.220	269.313	5.3	0.6	0.0
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	267.122	268.663	269.186	3.7	0.8	0.2
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	267.122	268.663	269.186	3.7	0.8	0.2
Fuels and utilities	241.559	-	235.203	4.4	-2.6	-
Household energy	219.567	219.152	211.188	3.1	-3.8	-3.6
Energy services	215.907	215.499	207.470	3.0	-3.9	-3.7
Electricity	206.124	206.124	197.125	6.4	-4.4	-4.4
Utility (piped) gas service	206.705	203.937	204.380	-13.5	-1.1	0.2
Household furnishings and operations	120.157	-	120.018	-1.9	-0.1	-
Apparel	102.892	-	115.649	1.3	12.4	-
Transportation	213.339	-	211.906	2.1	-0.7	-
Private transportation	218.077	-	216.320	2.6	-0.8	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	108.973	-	107.283	-	-1.6	-
New vehicles(1)	203.755	-	204.743	-	0.5	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	330.264	-	316.525	-	-4.2	-
Motor fuel	249.979	247.731	251.061	4.8	0.4	1.3
Gasoline (all types)	248.610	246.328	249.590	4.6	0.4	1.3
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	239.132	236.986	240.043	4.4	0.4	1.3
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	263.806	258.430	265.183	7.6	0.5	2.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	265.521	263.364	266.800	6.5	0.5	1.3
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	800.384	-	795.116	-	-0.7	-
Medical care	439.851	-	438.491	1.4	-0.3	-
Recreation(3)	118.727	-	119.571	6.6	0.7	-
Education and communication(3)	134.745	-	135.131	0.9	0.3	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,245.339	-	1,264.621	-	1.5	-
Other goods and services	403.401	-	408.710	4.9	1.3	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	175.380	-	177.032	0.6	0.9	-
Commodities less food and beverages	140.573	-	142.078	1.1	1.1	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	177.534	-	182.561	2.6	2.8	-
Durables	109.303	-	108.088	-0.7	-1.1	-
Services	290.337	-	290.707	3.5	0.1	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	226.617	-	227.549	1.7	0.4	-
All items less medical care	223.548	-	224.648	2.5	0.5	-
Commodities less food	145.323	-	147.073	1.1	1.2	-
Nondurables	211.909	-	215.701	1.1	1.8	-
Nondurables less food	184.511	-	190.047	2.6	3.0	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	345.732	-	344.871	3.2	-0.2	-
Services less medical care services	275.125	-	275.518	3.7	0.1	-
Energy	237.356	235.936	234.111	4.9	-1.4	-0.8
All items less energy	237.289	-	238.686	2.2	0.6	-
All items less food and energy	235.573	-	237.023	2.6	0.6	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a February 1978=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available.