Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until                                USDL-11-0677
8:30 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, May 10, 2011

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                             U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES - APRIL 2011

U.S. import prices increased 2.2 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, after 
rising 2.6 percent the previous month. Higher fuel and nonfuel prices contributed to the advances in each 
month. Prices for U.S. exports increased 1.1 percent in April following a 1.5 percent advance the previous 
month.


Imports

All Imports: Import prices rose 2.2 percent in April following a 2.6 percent advance in March, the first time 
import prices increased by more than two percent in consecutive months since June 2008. The price index for 
overall imports recorded an increase each month since October and rose 11.1 percent over the past year. The 
12-month advance in April was the largest year-over-year increase since an 11.2 percent gain between April 
2009 and April 2010. 

Fuel Imports: Import fuel prices advanced 6.7 percent in April and accounted for approximately 80 percent 
of the overall increase in import prices. In April, a 7.2 percent jump in petroleum prices more than offset a 
2.7 percent drop in natural gas prices. Prices for import fuel rose 34.8 percent for the year ended in April, 
driven by a 36.8 percent advance in petroleum prices. In contrast, natural gas prices ticked down 0.1 percent 
over the past 12 months. 

All Imports Excluding Fuel: Nonfuel import prices increased 0.6 percent in April. The price index for 
nonfuel industrial supplies and materials, up 1.7 percent in April was the largest contributor to both the 
monthly and yearly advances in nonfuel import prices. Each of the major finished goods categories also rose 
for the month. Prices for nonfuel imports recorded a second consecutive 12-month increase of 4.3 percent in 
April, the largest year-over-year advances since a 4.8 percent rise for the year ended in October 2008.    

Table A. Percent changes

Exports

All Exports: U.S. export prices advanced 1.1 percent in April, after rising 1.5 percent and 1.4 percent, 
respectively, in March and February. Higher prices for agricultural exports and nonagricultural exports 
contributed to the increases in each of the three months. Export prices rose 9.6 percent over the past year, 
matching the 12-month advance in March; those were the largest year-over-year increases since export prices 
jumped 10.2 percent in July 2008. 

Agricultural Exports: Prices for agricultural exports rose 0.6 percent in April, the smallest monthly advance 
since the index last recorded a decline in July 2010. A 2.6 percent increase in corn prices and a 2.1 percent 
rise in meat prices more than offset declining prices for nuts and a downturn in cotton prices. Agricultural 
prices increased 35.3 percent over the past year, the largest 12-month gain since the July 2007-08 period. The 
increase for the year ended in April was led by a 96.3 percent advance in corn prices and a 142.5 percent 
jump in cotton prices. 

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: The price index for nonagricultural exports rose 1.0 percent in April, 
led by a 2.5 percent increase in nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials prices. Each of the major 
finished goods categories also advanced in April. Nonagricultural export prices increased 6.9 percent for the 
year ended in April, the third consecutive month where the 12-month advance was greater than six percent.
   
 				
                                          SELECTED APRIL HIGHLIGHTS

Import Prices

Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: The price index for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials 
rose 1.7 percent in April following a 2.0 percent rise the previous month. Both increases were led by higher 
chemical and unfinished metals prices, which increased 2.4 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively, in April. 
The rise in chemical prices was driven by a 6.6 percent advance in plastics prices, and the largest contributors 
to the rise in unfinished metals prices were prices for gold and other precious metals.        

Finished Goods: Each of the major finished goods categories increased in April. Prices for consumer goods 
and automotive vehicles each rose 0.4 percent for the month. Capital goods prices ticked up 0.1 percent, as a 
0.5 percent decline in the price index for computers, peripherals, and semiconductors partially offset a 0.4 
percent increase in capital goods prices, excluding computers, peripherals, and semiconductors.
 
Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: Foods, feeds, and beverages prices advanced 1.8 percent in April after a 4.2 
percent rise in March. The April increase was driven by a 22.8 percent jump in coffee prices.   

Imports by Locality of Origin: Prices for imports from China advanced 0.4 percent in April, following a 
0.6 percent increase the previous month. Import prices from China rose 2.8 percent over the past year, the 
largest 12-month increase since a similar 2.8 percent advance in December 2008. Import prices from Japan 
increased 0.3 percent in April and 3.2 percent over the past 12 months. The price indexes for imports from 
Canada, Mexico, and the European Union all advanced in April, rising 2.4 percent, 2.5 percent, and 0.8 
percent, respectively; each index was led by higher petroleum prices.

Transportation Services: Import air passenger fares rose 1.2 percent in April, the first monthly advance 
since December. The April increase was led by a 2.8 percent advance in European fares and a 5.4 percent 
rise in Latin American/Caribbean fares. The overall index for import air passenger fares advanced 4.5 percent 
for the year ended in April. Import air freight prices rose 1.2 percent in April and 9.0 percent over the past 
year.   

Export Prices
 
Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials 
prices increased 2.5 percent in April following a 3.2 percent rise in March. The April advance was driven by 
a 3.9 percent increase in fuel prices and a 2.9 percent rise in chemical prices.     
 
Finished Goods: Prices for capital goods rose 0.2 percent in April. Consumer goods prices increased 0.4 
percent, led by a 0.5 percent increase in the price index for medicinal, dental, and pharmaceutical prices. 
Prices for automotive vehicles ticked up 0.1 percent.             

Transportation Services: Export air passenger fares advanced 2.4 percent in April, driven by a 10.2 percent 
jump in European fares. The index for export air passenger fares rose 9.0 percent over the past year. Prices 
for export air freight increased 2.7 percent in April and 15.5 percent over the past 12 months. 
		
Import and Export Price Index data for May 2011 are scheduled for release on Friday, June 10, 2011 
at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).

                                          TECHNICAL NOTE


Import and Export Merchandise and Services Price Indexes -- All indexes use a modified Laspeyres 
formula and are not seasonally adjusted.  Price indexes are reweighted annually, with a two-year lag in 
the weights.  Published series use a base year of 2000=100 where possible.  More detailed index series 
and additional information may be obtained at http://www.bls.gov/mxp, or by calling (202) 691-7101.

Merchandise Goods Classification Systems -- The merchandise price indexes are published using 
three classification systems.  Items are classified by end use according to the Bureau of Economic 
Analysis Classification System, by industry according to the North American Industry Classification 
System (NAICS), and by product category according to the Harmonized System (HS).  While 
classification by end use and product category are self-explanatory, some notes are in order for 
classifying items by industry.  In the NAICS imports and exports tables, items are classified by output 
industry, not input industry.  As an example, NAICS import index 326 (plastics and rubber products 
manufacturing) include outputs such as manufactured plastic rather than inputs such as petroleum.  The 
NAICS classification structure also matches the classification system used by the PPI (Producer Price 
Index) to produce the NAICS primary products indexes.

Import Price Indexes -- Products have been classified by the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States Annotated (TSUSA).  Import prices are based on U.S. dollar prices paid by the U.S. importer.  
The prices are generally either "free on board" (f.o.b.) foreign port or "cost, insurance, and freight" 
(c.i.f.) U.S. port transaction prices, depending on the practices of the individual industry.  The index for 
crude petroleum is calculated from data collected by the U.S. Department of Energy.  

Export Price Indexes -- Products have been classified by the Harmonized Schedule B classification 
system of the U.S. Bureau of the Census.  The prices used are generally either "free alongside ship" 
(f.a.s.) factory or "free on board" (f.o.b.) transaction prices, depending on the practices of the individual 
industry.  Prices used in the grain index, excluding rice, are obtained from the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture.

Services Price Indexes -- Starting in September 2008 the Import Air Passenger Fares Indexes represent 
changes in the average revenue per passenger received by foreign carriers from U.S. residents and are 
calculated from data obtained from an airline consulting service.  These data include tickets sold by 
travel agencies and travel websites.  Tickets sold directly by the airlines are excluded, as are frequent 
flyer tickets generally.  Starting in January 2008 the Export Air Passenger Fares Indexes represent 
changes in the average revenue per passenger received by U.S. carriers from foreign residents and are 
calculated from data collected directly from airlines. These data include frequent flyer tickets and those 
sold by consolidators. Taxes and fees are included in the Import Air Passenger Fares Index and excluded 
from the Export Air Passenger Fares Index. The Air Freight Indexes are calculated from data collected 
directly from airlines. These data exclude mail and passenger baggage. The scope of the service being 
priced is the movement of freight from airport to airport only, and does not include any ground 
transportation or port service. The Air Freight Indexes are presented using two definitions: Balance of 
Payments (which represent transactions between U.S. and foreign residents) and International (which 
represent transactions inbound to and outbound from the U.S.). Fact sheets specifying detailed 
information for each services industry are available at http://www.bls.gov/mxp under "MXP 
Publications."

Import Indexes by Locality of Origin -- Prices used in these indexes are a subset of the data collected 
for the Import Price Indexes.  Beginning with January 2002, the indexes are defined by locality of origin 
using a nomenclature based upon the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).  
Nonmanufactured goods are defined as NAICS 11 and 21 and manufactured goods are defined as 
NAICS 31-33. 
 
Revision Policy -- To reflect the availability of late reports and corrections by respondents, monthly data 
may be revised in each of the three months after original publication.  After three months, no further data 
revisions take place.  So, for example, data released in the January release will be subject to revision in 
the releases for February, March, and April.

Uses of the Data -- The primary use of the indexes is to deflate trade statistics, notably the foreign trade 
sector of the National Income and Product Accounts constructed by the Department of Commerce.  
Other published indexes are useful for general market analysis.  For trade in international services, 
Balance of Payments indexes are used for deflating National Income and Product Accounts, while 
International indexes are more appropriate for market analysis.  Merchandise and services indexes also 
can be used to study U.S. competitiveness and to compute price elasticities, and the merchandise import 
indexes by country or region of origin are useful in terms of trade analysis.

E-Mail Subscription -- The U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes news release is available through an 
e-mail subscription service at (http://www.bls.gov/bls/list.htm).
 
Additional Information -- More detailed data are available on the Import/Export Price Indexes home 
page at (http://www.bls.gov/mxp).  Flat Files and the FTP server are available for users requiring access 
to either a large volume of time series data or other related documentation. The FTP site can be accessed 
at ftp://ftp.bls.gov.   For technical assistance in using the BLS Internet site, send e-mail to 
(labstat.helpdesk@bls.gov).  For Import/Export Price Index data requests, send e-mail to 
(mxpinfo@bls.gov). 

Information from this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.  
Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.