Prices in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), fell 1.1 percent for the two months ending in May 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the indexes for both energy and for all items less food and energy posted declines during the period. In contrast, food prices rose during the two months ending in May. (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 fell 0.5 percent, while the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.3 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.) During the 12-month period ending in May 2020, food prices increased 1.8 percent, while energy costs dropped 24.0 percent.

Food

Food prices rose 0.5 percent for the two months ending in May, after rising 0.6 percent in February and March. The latest movement was primarily the result of a 0.7-percent increase in the food at home index (grocery store prices), though prices for food away from home also rose, edging up 0.2 percent.

During the 12 months ending in May 2020, food prices advanced 1.8 percent, reflecting the combined effects of a 2.3-percent increase in prices for food at home and a 1.2-percent rise in prices for food away from home.

Energy

The energy index fell 11.4 percent for the two months ending in May, after declining 8.3 percent in the previous bi-monthly period. During the latest period, the largest contributor was a 26.5-percent drop in motor fuel prices. In contrast, the price of electricity rose 1.1 percent and natural gas prices were up 2.7 percent during the latest two-month period.

Over the year, the energy index dropped 24.0 percent, matching the April annual decline, both marking the sharpest twelve-month decline since September 2009. The biggest factor in the latest annual decline was a 45.5-percent drop in motor fuel costs. The other components within the energy index registered increases, as natural gas costs were up 10.9 percent and electricity prices rose 1.1 percent during the year ending in May 2020.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy fell 0.5 percent in April and May, after rising 0.6 percent in February and March. In the latest bi-monthly period, lower prices were registered for a number of components, including motor vehicle insurance (-23.8 percent), apparel (-8.1 percent), and other goods and services (-2.7 percent). These decreases were partially offset by price increases for shelter (0.7 percent), medical care (1.8 percent), and alcoholic beverages (5.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.3 percent. Leading factors in the price increase included shelter (5.3 percent) and medical care (5.8 percent). Partly countering these gains were price declines for motor vehicle insurance (-25.6 percent), new vehicles (-10.6 percent), and apparel (-5.4 percent).

The July 2020 Consumer Price Index for All Items for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is scheduled to be released Wednesday, August 12, 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 -
	Mar. 2020	Apr. 2020	May 2020	May 2019	Mar. 2020	Apr. 2020
All items	238.865	-	236.317	-0.5	-1.1	-
All items (1967 = 100)	749.305	-	741.312
Food and beverages	261.443	-	263.803	2.3	0.9	-
Food	255.909	-	257.102	1.8	0.5	-
Food at home	215.773	216.651	217.341	2.3	0.7	0.3
Cereals and bakery products	259.234	-	260.866	-0.9	0.6	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	249.729	-	256.258	5.4	2.6	-
Dairy and related products	194.100	-	197.639	3.4	1.8	-
Fruits and vegetables	197.351	-	189.311	-1.4	-4.1	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	186.977	-	193.775	6.4	3.6	-
Other food at home	201.817	-	202.830	1.1	0.5	-
Food away from home	316.173	-	316.759	1.2	0.2	-
Alcoholic beverages	334.613	-	353.740	9.9	5.7	-
Housing	237.318	-	238.598	4.6	0.5	-
Shelter	266.409	267.105	268.233	5.3	0.7	0.4
Rent of primary residence	284.827	285.386	286.580	4.6	0.6	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	286.916	287.704	289.015	5.4	0.7	0.5
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	286.916	287.704	289.015	5.4	0.7	0.5
Fuels and utilities	247.288	-	249.574	3.0	0.9	-
Household energy	215.790	216.825	218.326	2.0	1.2	0.7
Energy services	212.209	213.371	214.998	2.2	1.3	0.8
Electricity	206.218	206.085	208.514	1.1	1.1	1.2
Utility (piped) gas service	181.819	190.220	186.639	10.9	2.7	-1.9
Household furnishings and operations	120.834	-	119.660	1.1	-1.0	-
Apparel	113.159	-	103.957	-5.4	-8.1	-
Transportation	192.383	-	175.989	-18.2	-8.5	-
Private transportation	196.742	-	178.563	-18.1	-9.2	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	100.529	-	100.780	-7.2	0.2	-
New vehicles(1)	184.054	-	186.620	-10.6	1.4	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	328.412	-	323.916	-0.7	-1.4	-
Motor fuel	184.408	136.974	135.570	-45.5	-26.5	-1.0
Gasoline (all types)	183.021	135.615	134.345	-45.7	-26.6	-0.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	174.517	128.137	127.108	-46.6	-27.2	-0.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	199.477	156.207	151.874	-41.7	-23.9	-2.8
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	210.196	166.927	164.124	-38.2	-21.9	-1.7
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	764.690	-	582.991	-25.6	-23.8	-
Medical care	469.228	-	477.670	5.8	1.8	-
Recreation(3)	121.323	-	122.316	-1.1	0.8	-
Education and communication(3)	133.070	-	133.284	1.2	0.2	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,292.468	-	1,292.397	2.2	0.0	-
Other goods and services	425.990	-	414.663	0.0	-2.7	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	172.801	-	168.120	-5.9	-2.7	-
Commodities less food and beverages	134.484	-	127.820	-10.5	-5.0	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	168.012	-	152.821	-15.5	-9.0	-
Durables	105.945	-	105.853	-4.3	-0.1	-
Services	303.210	-	302.731	2.7	-0.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	226.599	-	221.947	-3.5	-2.1	-
All items less medical care	227.746	-	224.733	-1.0	-1.3	-
Commodities less food	139.375	-	133.199	-9.8	-4.4	-
Nondurables	210.202	-	202.350	-6.5	-3.7	-
Nondurables less food	175.553	-	161.931	-13.9	-7.8	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	351.932	-	347.668	-0.5	-1.2	-
Services less medical care services	285.767	-	284.465	2.1	-0.5	-
Energy	201.026	177.968	178.030	-24.0	-11.4	0.0
All items less energy	246.282	-	245.301	1.4	-0.4	-
All items less food and energy	244.495	-	243.196	1.3	-0.5	-
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.