Midwest Information Office

Internet: www.bls.gov/ro5/	FOR RELEASE:
GENERAL INFORMATION: (312) 353-1880	8:30 A.M. ET
MEDIA CONTACT: Paul LaPorte	Wednesday, September 16, 2009
(312) 353-1138

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CONSUMER PRICE INDEX DETROIT-ANN ARBOR-FLINT, MICH. CMSA AUGUST 2009

 

The Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, Mich. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was essentially unchanged from June to August, increasing 0.1 percent, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.  Over the past 12 months, retail prices in the Detroit area were down 2.3 percent.  This compares to the 4.9 percent increase reported over the previous 12-month period ending in August 2008.  The August 2009 CPI-U for Detroit was 204.673 (1982-84=100).

Regional Commissioner Jay A. Mousa noted that increases in the components for apparel, food and beverages, education and communication, and recreation were nearly offset by declines in the components for housing, medical care, and other goods and services.  The transportation component recorded no change from June-August.

The apparel component advanced 4.0 percent from June to August as price tags for men’s apparel, women’s outerwear, and infants’ and toddlers’ apparel all were higher.  This latest bimonthly gain was not as large as the 14.2 percent increase recorded during the same period last year.  Apparel prices fell 9.8 percent for the 12-month period ending in August.

The food and beverages component gained 0.2 percent from June to August.  Grocery food prices (food at home index) rose 0.4 percent and the cost of dining out (food away from home) edged up 0.1 percent.  Compared to last August, grocery food items cost Detroit area consumers 0.4 percent more while the cost of dining out was 3.1 percent more expensive.  Overall food and beverage costs rose 1.6 percent over the year.  In the previous two August-August periods, food and beverages prices rose at an annual average rate of 3.5 percent.  The price of alcoholic beverages was unchanged from June to August and stood 2.7 percent higher for the year.

The education and communication component gained 0.5 percent over the 2-months and was 1.3 percent higher for the year.  This latest annual increase was less than the 3.6 percent average annual gain experienced over the past three years.

Recreation costs were nearly unchanged rising 0.1 percent during the bi-monthly period.  For the year, recreation costs were down 2.5 percent after rising 3.5 percent in the previous August-August period.

The cost of transportation was unchanged in Detroit from June-August.  Gasoline prices fell 5.6 percent from June-August and remained 30.3 percent below their year ago August levels.  Overall transportation costs were 9.3 percent lower for the year due to the lower gasoline prices this August compared to August last summer.

The medical care component fell 0.5 percent for the 2-months.  For the year, medical care costs were essentially unchanged, up 0.1 percent.

The other goods and services component declined 0.3 percent from June to August and was 7.6 percent higher for the year.  This latest August-August gain compares with an annual gain of 0.2 percent over the previous year.

The housing component fell 0.3 percent during the bimonthly period.  A 0.5 percent decline in the shelter index and a 0.8 percent decline in the household furnishings and operations index were partially offset by a 1.3 percent increase in the fuels and utilities index.  Within the fuels and utilities category, the electricity index rose 2.4 percent and the index for utility (piped) gas service fell 0.8 percent.  The overall housing component was 1.3 percent lower for the year due to over-the-year declines in the indexes for shelter (- 1.1 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (-18.8 percent).  The index for electricity increased 11.4 percent from its year ago August level.

 

 

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Scheduled release date for the September 2009 CPI: Thursday, October 15, 2009

Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, Mich. Combined Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) includes Genesee, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties in Michigan.

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE CPI

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 87 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 32 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. Prices are collected in 87 urban areas across the country from about 50,000 housing units and approximately 23,000 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. Prices of food, fuels, and a few other items are obtained every month in all 87 locations. Prices of most other commodities and services are collected every month in the three largest geographic areas and every other month in other areas. Prices of most goods and services are obtained by personal visits of the Bureau's trained representatives.

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. Separate indexes are also published by size of city, by region of the country, for cross-classifications of regions and population-size classes, and for 27 local areas. Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices among cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

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/homch17_a.htm.

 

Last Modified Date: September 16, 2009