Midwest Information Office

Internet: www.bls.gov/ro5/	FOR RELEASE:
GENERAL INFORMATION: (312) 353-1880	8:30 A.M. ET
MEDIA CONTACT: Paul LaPorte	Friday, May 15, 2009
(312) 353-1138

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CONSUMER PRICE INDEX DETROIT-ANN ARBOR-FLINT, MI CMSA APRIL 2009

 

The Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent from February to April, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.  During the previous February-April period, prices in the area rose 1.4 percent.  On an annual basis, April 2008-April 2009, the Detroit area CPI-U fell 1.4 percent.  This was a change from the 2.4 percent increase in the previous 12-month period that ended in April 2008.

Jay A. Mousa, regional commissioner for the Bureau in Chicago, noted that increases in the components for other goods and services, transportation, and apparel were responsible for almost all of the 0.2 percent bimonthly gain in the Detroit area all items index.  The components for food and beverages and recreation also rose over the two-month period, but with less effect on the all items index.  The component for housing declined, but only partially offset the gains in the other components.  The components for medical care and education and communication experienced no change from February to April.

The transportation component increased 0.7 percent from February to April.  A 7.3 percent increase in gasoline prices was the largest contributor to this gain.   Higher prices for motor vehicle maintenance and repair also contributed to the increase.  Over the year, transportation costs were down 10.6 percent, largely due to a 41.4 percent decline in gasoline prices.  During the previous 12-month period, the transportation component rose 9.1 percent while gasoline costs increased 25.9 percent.

The housing component fell 0.6 percent over the two-month period.  This decline was the result of a combination of drops in prices for both shelter and utility (piped) gas service.  The heavily-weighted shelter index fell 0.5 percent while the utility (piped) gas service index fell 3.5 percent.  Over the year, the housing component was down 1.3 percent with shelter costs declining 1.5 percent and utility (piped) gas service costs falling 17.4 percent.  Household furnishings and operations costs fell 1.1 percent from February-April, but were up 3.6 percent over the year.

The other goods and services component, which includes goods such as tobacco and personal care products and services such as legal counsel and dry cleaning, rose 6.3 percent from February to April.  Higher prices for tobacco and smoking products contributed to this increase.  Over the year, this component gained 6.1 percent.  During the previous 12-month period, prices for other goods and services increased 0.8 percent.

The apparel component increased 2.9 percent during the bimonthly period after edging up 0.4 percent during the same period last year.  For the year, apparel prices were up 0.8 percent.  This compares to a 1.3 percent increase during the previous annual period.

The food and beverages component edged up 0.1 percent during the February-April bimonthly period.  The food at home (grocery) index rose 0.2 percent while the food away from home (restaurants, cafeterias, vending machines, and catered affairs) index fell 0.1 percent.   Prices for alcoholic beverages were down 0.6 percent during the same period.  On an annual basis, food and beverage prices increased 3.8 percent with grocery prices rising 3.9 percent and costs for food away from home increasing 4.2 percent.  During the previous 12-month period, food and beverage prices in the Detroit area increased 2.2 percent.

The component for recreation, which includes admissions and club dues, video and audio equipment, sporting goods, and pets rose 0.3 percent from February to April.  For the year, recreation costs were up 1.0 percent after falling 3.6 percent during the previous year.

The medical care component was unchanged from February to April; during the previous February-April period this component rose 0.2 percent.  Over the year, medical care prices in the Detroit area were up 1.1 percent after declining 0.4 percent during the previous annual period.

The education and communication component, which includes items such as school tuitions, computers, and wireless phone services, was unchanged over the past two months but was 2.8 percent higher than a year ago.  In the previous 12-month period, this component increased 1.8 percent.

 

 

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Scheduled release date for the May 2009 CPI: Wednesday, June 17, 2009

CPI HOTLINE SERVICE PROVIDES LATEST INDEXES 24 HOURS A DAY

The all items CPI-U and CPI-W for the U.S. City Average,  and the Detroit area are available to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through the Bureau's CPI Hotline service. This recorded message also provides percent changes from the prior period and from a year earlier, as well as the scheduled release date for the next CPI issuance. The Hotline number in Detroit is (313) 226-7558.

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: May 15, 2009