Prices in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged for the two months ending in March 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Susan Mendez noted that the indexes for both food and for all items less food and energy posted 0.6-percent advances during the period. However, these increases were balanced by an 8.3-percent decline in energy costs during the two months ending in March. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the all items CPI-U advanced 1.0 percent, while the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.) During the 12-month period ending in March 2020, food prices increased 2.1 percent, while energy costs fell 8.9 percent.

Food

Food prices rose 0.6 percent for the two months ending in March, after edging up 0.1 percent in December and January. The latest movement was entirely the result of a 1.0-percent increase in the food at home index (grocery store prices), as prices for food away from home were unchanged during the period.

During the 12 months ending in March 2020, food prices advanced 2.1 percent, reflecting the combined effects of a 2.3-percent increase in prices for food at home and a 1.9-percent rise in prices for food away from home.

Energy

The energy index dropped 8.3 percent for the two months ending in March, after declining 0.5 percent in December and January. During the latest period, prices fell for all three of the major components within the energy index, but the largest contributor was a 14.0-percent decline in motor fuel prices. The cost of electricity fell 2.2 percent and natural gas prices declined 7.1 percent during the two-month period.

Over the year, the energy index decreased 8.9 percent, the first twelve-month decline since October 2019. The biggest factor in the latest annual decline was a 17.0-percent drop in motor fuel costs. Also contributing was a 2.2-percent decline in natural gas costs. In contrast, prices for electricity rose 0.3 percent during the last 12 months.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent in February and March, after edging up 0.1 percent in December and January. In the latest bi-monthly period, higher prices were registered for a number of components, including shelter (1.3 percent), apparel (3.5 percent), and medical care (1.4 percent). These increases were partly offset by price declines for new vehicles and public transportation, particularly airline fares.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.7 percent. Leading factors in the price increase included shelter (4.7 percent), medical care (4.2 percent), and apparel (4.2 percent). Partially countering these gains were price declines for new and used motor vehicles (-8.7 percent), recreation (-2.6 percent), and household furnishings and operations (-1.9 percent).

The May 2020 Consumer Price Index for All Items for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is scheduled to be released Wednesday, June 10, 2020.

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 the counties of Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise.

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 -
	Jan. 2020	Feb. 2020	Mar. 2020	Mar. 2019	Jan. 2020	Feb. 2020
All items	238.935	-	238.865	1.0	0.0	-
All items (1967 = 100)	749.526	-	749.305
Food and beverages	259.487	-	261.443	2.1	0.8	-
Food	254.505	-	255.909	2.1	0.6	-
Food at home	213.543	212.278	215.773	2.3	1.0	1.6
Cereals and bakery products	252.772	-	259.234	-2.6	2.6	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	243.305	-	249.729	4.5	2.6	-
Dairy and related products	199.131	-	194.100	1.7	-2.5	-
Fruits and vegetables	201.215	-	197.351	1.0	-1.9	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	182.257	-	186.977	8.3	2.6	-
Other food at home	198.946	-	201.817	0.7	1.4	-
Food away from home	316.094	-	316.173	1.9	0.0	-
Alcoholic beverages	324.746	-	334.613	5.0	3.0	-
Housing	235.154	-	237.318	3.6	0.9	-
Shelter	263.105	265.418	266.409	4.7	1.3	0.4
Rent of primary residence	280.434	282.535	284.827	4.7	1.6	0.8
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	282.877	285.145	286.916	5.1	1.4	0.6
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	282.877	285.145	286.916	5.1	1.4	0.6
Fuels and utilities	252.360	-	247.288	1.4	-2.0	-
Household energy	222.266	221.394	215.790	-0.1	-2.9	-2.5
Energy services	218.544	217.541	212.209	-0.1	-2.9	-2.5
Electricity	210.942	210.942	206.218	0.3	-2.2	-2.2
Utility (piped) gas service	195.650	189.073	181.819	-2.2	-7.1	-3.8
Household furnishings and operations	119.099	-	120.834	-1.9	1.5	-
Apparel	109.365	-	113.159	4.2	3.5	-
Transportation	202.133	-	192.383	-8.2	-4.8	-
Private transportation	204.851	-	196.742	-7.7	-4.0	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	104.388	-	100.529	-8.7	-3.7	-
New vehicles(1)	199.406	-	184.054	-12.6	-7.7	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	318.974	-	328.412	-0.6	3.0	-
Motor fuel	214.459	198.037	184.408	-17.0	-14.0	-6.9
Gasoline (all types)	212.963	196.553	183.021	-17.1	-14.1	-6.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	203.803	187.777	174.517	-17.6	-14.4	-7.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	229.866	213.250	199.477	-15.2	-13.2	-6.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	237.245	222.119	210.196	-12.7	-11.4	-5.4
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	755.625	-	764.690	-3.3	1.2	-
Medical care	462.745	-	469.228	4.2	1.4	-
Recreation(3)	121.966	-	121.323	-2.6	-0.5	-
Education and communication(3)	132.628	-	133.070	1.0	0.3	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,286.352	-	1,292.468	2.2	0.5	-
Other goods and services	428.813	-	425.990	3.6	-0.7	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	175.257	-	172.801	-1.7	-1.4	-
Commodities less food and beverages	138.210	-	134.484	-3.9	-2.7	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	173.596	-	168.012	-3.2	-3.2	-
Durables	108.182	-	105.945	-4.8	-2.1	-
Services	300.965	-	303.210	2.6	0.7	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	228.284	-	226.599	-1.0	-0.7	-
All items less medical care	228.101	-	227.746	0.7	-0.2	-
Commodities less food	142.844	-	139.375	-3.7	-2.4	-
Nondurables	212.622	-	210.202	-0.4	-1.1	-
Nondurables less food	180.432	-	175.553	-2.8	-2.7	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	351.725	-	351.932	0.0	0.1	-
Services less medical care services	284.091	-	285.767	2.2	0.6	-
Energy	219.249	210.642	201.026	-8.9	-8.3	-4.6
All items less energy	244.920	-	246.282	1.7	0.6	-
All items less food and energy	243.141	-	244.495	1.7	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) Index on a December 1993=100.
- Data not available.