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                            U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES - JULY 2013

Prices for U.S. imports rose 0.2 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, after 
decreasing in each of the previous 4 months. The July upturn was driven by rising fuel prices which more 
than offset lower nonfuel prices. In July, U.S. exports edged down 0.1 percent for the second consecutive 
month.  

Imports

All Imports: Import prices turned up 0.2 percent in July, after declining 1.8 percent over the prior 4 months. 
The July increase was the first advance since import prices rose 0.9 percent in February. The price index for 
overall imports increased 1.0 percent over the past year, the largest 12-month rise since import prices 
advanced 3.5 percent between March 2011 and March 2012.  

Fuel Imports: Fuel prices increased 2.5 percent in July following a 0.8 percent decline in June, a 1.7 percent 
drop in May, and a 2.4 percent decrease in April. The July advance was the first increase in fuel prices since 
the index rose 3.6 percent in February, and was led by a 3.2 percent advance in petroleum prices. In contrast, 
natural gas prices fell 13.6 percent in July. Import fuel prices also rose on a 12-month basis, increasing 8.5 
percent for the year ended in July. A 7.8 percent advance in petroleum prices and a 49.3 percent rise in 
natural gas prices each contributed to the year-over-year increase in fuel prices.             

All Imports Excluding Fuel: In contrast to fuel prices, nonfuel prices continued to decrease in July, 
declining 0.4 percent. The decrease followed a 0.3 percent drop in June and was the fifth consecutive 
monthly decline. In July, falling prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials, automotive vehicles, and 
consumer goods more than offset rising prices for capital goods and foods, feeds, and beverages.     

Table A. Import and export price indexes, selected categories
 Percent changes

Exports

All Exports: U.S. export prices edged down 0.1 percent in July, and continued the downward trend over 
the previous 4 months. In July, the decline was led by lower agricultural prices. Despite the decreases in each 
of the past 5 months, overall export prices rose 0.4 percent for the year ended in July.     

Agricultural Exports: Prices for agricultural exports declined 0.3 percent in July, following increases of 0.8 
percent in June and 1.0 percent in May. The July decline was driven by lower prices for wheat, corn, and 
fruit, down 7.4 percent, 3.3 percent, and 4.6 percent, respectively, which more than offset higher prices for 
soybeans and nuts. Agricultural export prices increased 3.1 percent over the past year.                     

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: The price index for nonagricultural prices recorded no change in July, 
after decreasing 1.6 percent between February and June. In July, falling prices for nonagricultural industrial 
supplies and materials offset rising finished goods prices. Overall nonagricultural export prices also recorded 
no change over the past 12 months following a 1.9 percent decline for the year ended July 2012.       


                                       SELECTED JULY HIGHLIGHTS

Import Prices

Imports by Locality of Origin: Prices for imports from Japan fell 0.5 percent in July following a 0.3 percent 
decrease the previous month. Import prices from Japan declined 2.4 percent over the past 12 months, the 
largest year-over-year decrease for the index since a 2.5 percent decline between December 2001 and 
December 2002. The price index for imports from China edged down 0.1 percent in July after recording no 
change in June. Prices for imports from China declined 1.4 percent over the past year, the largest 12-month 
decrease for the index since a 1.7 percent drop for the year ended in January 2010. Import prices from 
Canada also fell in July, declining 0.1 percent. In contrast, the price indexes for imports from the European 
Union and Mexico both rose in July, increasing 0.2 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.          

Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: Prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials fell 1.6 
percent in July, after a 1.0 percent decline in June. Falling metal prices, notably for gold and other precious 
metals, drove the declines in each month. In July, declining chemical prices also contributed to the overall 
decrease in nonfuel industrial supplies and materials prices.  

Finished Goods: Finished goods prices were mostly down in July. Automotive vehicles prices fell 0.5 
percent, mostly attributable to falling prices for passenger cars. The July drop in automotive vehicles prices 
paralleled the recent rise in the value of the U.S. dollar compared to the yen, and was the largest drop since a 
1.1 percent decline in December 1992. The price index for consumer goods also fell in July, decreasing 0.2 
percent. In contrast, capital goods prices ticked up 0.1 percent in July.  

Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: Prices for import foods, feeds, and beverages advanced 0.2 percent in July 
following a 1.0 percent decline the previous month. The July increase was led by a 2.8 percent rise in 
vegetable prices. 

Transportation Services: Import air passenger fares fell 3.9 percent in July, after jumping 10.7 percent in 
June. The decrease in July was driven by a downturn in European fares, down 8.0 percent for the month. 
Despite the July decline, import air passenger fares advanced 2.1 percent over the past 12 months. The price 
index for import air freight advanced 0.3 percent in July, while decreasing 2.1 percent over the past year. 


Export Prices

Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials 
prices fell 0.3 percent in July, after decreasing 0.5 percent in June. Both declines were driven by lower prices 
for nonferrous metals, which fell 4.1 percent in July and 2.5 percent in June. 

Finished Goods: Each of the major finished goods areas recorded increases in July. Capital goods prices 
rose 0.3 percent, the largest monthly advance since a 0.3 percent rise in February, while the price indexes for 
consumer goods and automotive vehicles each ticked up 0.1 percent. 

Transportation Services: Export air passenger fares continued to rise in July, advancing 1.5 percent, after 
advances of 2.1 percent in June and 5.2 percent in May. In July, the increase was mostly driven by a 6.2 
percent rise in Latin American/Caribbean fares. Despite the recent advances, export air passenger fares fell 
7.5 percent over the past year. Export air freight prices edged down 0.1 percent in July, while increasing 1.0 
percent over the past 12 months.          

Import and Export Price Index data for August 2013 are scheduled for release on Thursday, 
September 12, 2013 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.