Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until					USDL-16-1655
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                          U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES - JULY 2016

Prices for U.S. imports advanced 0.1 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, 
following a 0.6-percent rise the previous month. In July, increasing nonfuel prices more than offset a 
downturn in fuel prices. The price index for U.S. exports rose 0.2 percent in July, after advancing 0.8 
percent in June.  

Imports

All Imports: U.S. import prices continued to advance in July, ticking up 0.1 percent. Prices for imports 
have not recorded a monthly decrease over the past 5 months and increased 3.0 percent since last declining 
in February. Prior to July, the increases were driven by rising fuel prices. In contrast, in July, nonfuel prices 
led the advance and fuel prices recorded a decrease. Despite the recent increases, import prices remain down 
on an over-the-year basis, falling 3.7 percent over the past 12 months. Import prices have not recorded a 12-
month advance since 2 years ago when the index rose 0.9 percent between July 2013 and July 2014.                   

All Imports Excluding Fuel: The price index for nonfuel imports rose 0.3 percent in July following a 0.2-
percent drop in June and a 0.3-percent advance in May. The 0.3-percent increases were the largest 1-month 
advances since the index rose 0.3 percent in March 2014. The last time the index increased more than 0.3 
percent was a 0.4-percent rise in March 2012. The July advance was led by higher prices for nonfuel 
industrial supplies and materials; and foods, feeds, and beverages. In contrast, import finished goods prices 
decreased in July. Prices for nonfuel imports declined 1.2 percent over the past year.            

Fuel Imports: Fuel prices decreased 2.5 percent in July, the first monthly decline since the index fell 6.8 
percent in February. Before the downturn, import fuel prices rose 47.1 percent from February to June. In 
July, a 3.6-percent drop in petroleum prices drove the downturn in fuel prices and more than offset a 31.4 
percent increase in the price index for natural gas. Prices for import fuel decreased 22.3 percent for the year 
ended in July. A 23.1-percent decline in petroleum prices over the period and a 17.5-percent drop in natural 
gas prices each contributed to the overall fall in fuel prices.                 

Table A. Percent change in Import and Export Price Indexes, selected categories

Exports 

All Exports: Prices for U.S. exports increased 0.2 percent in July, after rising 2.4 percent over the 3 
previous months. In July, higher nonagricultural prices more than offset a decrease in agricultural prices. 
The price index for exports last recorded a 1-month decline when the index edged down 0.1 percent in 
March. Even accounting for the recent advances, export prices declined 3.0 percent over the past 12 months 
and have not increased on an over-the-year basis since the index advanced 0.4 percent in August 2014. 

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: Nonagricultural prices increased 0.3 percent in July following a 0.5 
percent advance the previous month. In July, rising prices for nonagricultural industrial supplies and 
materials as well as consumer goods drove the overall rise. Prices for nonagricultural exports fell 3.0 percent 
over the past 12 months and declines for each of the major end-use categories contributed to the decrease 
from July 2015 to July 2016. 

Agricultural Exports: The price index for agricultural exports declined 0.4 percent in July, after rising 2.6 
percent in June, 3.0 percent in May, and 0.8 percent in April. The downturn in July was led by an 8.5-
percent decrease in corn prices; lower wheat prices also contributed to the overall decrease. Agricultural 
export prices fell 2.6 percent for the year ended in July, driven primarily by falling prices for nuts, wheat, 
and corn.     


   					SELECTED JULY HIGHLIGHTS


Import Prices

Imports by Locality of Origin: Prices for imports from China edged down 0.1 percent in July, after 
decreasing 0.2 percent in June. The price index for imports from China has not recorded a monthly advance 
since ticking up 0.1 percent in December 2014 and decreased 1.8 percent on a 12-month basis for the second 
consecutive month in July. Import prices from the European Union and Mexico also declined in July, falling 
0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. In contrast, prices for imports from Japan rose 0.2 percent in July. 
The last time the price index for imports from Japan recorded a monthly advance larger than 0.2 percent was 
a 0.3-percent increase in August 2011. Import prices from Canada rose 0.2 percent in July following a 2.7-
percent advance in June.                            

Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonfuel industrial supplies and materials prices rose 1.6 
percent in July, after a 0.2-percent drop in June. The July advance was led by higher prices for gold, other 
precious metals, and iron and steel mill products.          

Finished Goods: Each of the major finished goods categories recorded declines in July. Automotive 
vehicles prices fell 0.3 percent, driven by lower passenger car prices. The price indexes for capital goods 
and consumer goods each edged down 0.1 percent in July. Capital goods prices last rose on a monthly basis 
in June 2014.                      

Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: Prices for foods, feeds, and beverages increased 3.3 percent in July, driven 
by a 32.0-percent jump in import fruit prices. The July advance in foods, feeds, and beverages prices was 
the largest monthly advance since the index rose 3.6 percent in March 2014.               

Transportation Services: Import air passenger fares declined 3.9 percent in July following monthly 
increases in each of the past 3 months. An 8.4-percent drop in European fares was the main contributor to 
the July downturn, while Asian fares also fell, declining 3.1 percent. Import air passenger fares decreased 
8.3 percent over the past year. The price index for import air freight rose 2.5 percent in July, the largest 1-
month rise for the index since a 5.0-percent advance in October 2015. Despite the July rise, import air 
freight prices fell 7.7 percent over the past 12 months.        

Export Prices

Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials rose 
0.6 percent in July, after advancing 1.8 percent in June. The July increase was led by a 6.7-percent rise in 
nonferrous metal prices.         

Finished Goods: Finished goods prices were mixed in July. Prices for consumer goods rose 0.5 percent, 
driven by a 1.7-percent advance in the price index for medicinal, dental, and pharmaceutical materials. The 
last time consumer goods prices increased by more than 0.5 percent was a 1.2-percent advance in June 2011. 
Capital goods prices edged down 0.1 percent in July and automotive vehicles prices recorded no change. 

Transportation Services: Export air passenger fares rose 4.4 percent in July following a 3.4-percent 
advance in June. An 11.5-percent increase in Latin American/Caribbean fares and a 5.9-percent rise in 
Asian fares each contributed to the overall advance for export air passenger fares. Despite the recent 
increase, export air passenger fares fell 9.4 percent over the past 12 months. The price index for export air 
freight fell 0.2 percent in July and 3.2 percent over the past year.             

Import and Export Price Index data for August 2016 are scheduled for release on Wednesday, September 14, 
2016 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 2-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 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 Producer Price Index (PPI) 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 indexes and excluded from 
the export air passenger fares indexes. 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 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 3 months after original publication. After 3 months, no further data 
revisions take place. For example, data first published 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 (NIPA) 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 NIPA, 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.

Email Subscription - The U.S. import and export price indexes news release is available through an 
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Additional Information - More detailed data are available on the Import/Export Price Indexes home 
page at www.bls.gov/mxp. For import and export price indexes data requests, send an email to 
mxpinfo@bls.gov.   

Information from this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.  
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