Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until                              USDL-17-0034
8:30 a.m. (EST) Thursday, January 12, 2017

Technical information: (202) 691-7101 * MXPinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/mxp
Media contact:         (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov


                         U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES - DECEMBER 2016

Prices for U.S. imports rose 0.4 percent in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, 
after a 0.2-percent decline the previous month. The advance in December was primarily driven by higher 
fuel prices which more than offset lower nonfuel prices. U.S. export prices advanced in December, rising 
0.3 percent following a 0.1-percent decrease in November. 

Imports

All Imports: Import prices resumed an upward trend in December, rising 0.4 percent following a 0.2-
percent decline in November. Prices for overall imports advanced 1.8 percent between December 2015 and 
December 2016, the largest 12-month increase since the index rose 3.5 percent in March 2012. The increase 
in 2016 was the first calendar-year advance since import prices rose 8.5 percent in 2011. 

Fuel Imports: Prices for import fuel advanced 7.3 percent in December, the largest monthly increase since 
the index rose 10.5 percent in June. The December increase was primarily led by a 7.9-percent advance in 
petroleum prices. Natural gas prices also rose in December, increasing 2.2 percent. The price index for 
import fuel advanced 25.0 percent in 2016 following a 41.0-percent drop the previous year. The 2016 
increase was the first year that fuel prices rose since a 24.9-percent rise in 2011, and the largest calendar-
year advance since a 62.2-percent jump in 2009.

All Imports Excluding Fuel: The price index for nonfuel imports declined for the third consecutive month 
in December, falling 0.2 percent. The December drop matched a 0.2-percent decline in June and those were 
the largest drops since the index decreased 0.3 percent in December 2015. In December 2016, the decrease 
was led by lower prices for foods, feeds, and beverages as well as each of the finished goods areas. In 
contrast, nonfuel industrial supplies and materials prices rose. Nonfuel import prices edged down 0.1 
percent in 2016 following a 3.4-percent drop the previous year. 

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

Exports

All Exports: Export prices advanced 0.3 percent in December matching the 0.3-percent rise in September; 
those were the largest increases for the index since a 0.8-percent rise in June. In December, higher 
nonagricultural prices more than offset declining agricultural prices. Prices for overall exports rose 1.1 
percent for the year ended in December, the first 12-month increase since the index advanced 0.4 percent in 
August 2014 and the largest over-the-year rise since a 1.5-percent increase in February 2013. 

Agricultural Exports: Prices for agricultural exports decreased 0.3 percent in December following a 0.6-
percent increase in November and a 0.5-percent advance in October. The December drop was led by an 8.0-
percent decline in vegetable prices and a 4.9-percent fall in fruit prices. The price index for agricultural 
exports declined 0.5 percent in 2016, after decreasing 12.9 percent in 2015. Agricultural prices have not 
recorded a calendar-year advance since the index rose 13.4 percent in 2012. 

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: Nonagricultural prices increased 0.4 percent in December, after 
edging down 0.1 percent in November. The December increase was driven by higher prices for 
nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials which more than offset lower finished goods prices. The 
price index for nonagricultural exports increased 1.3 percent in 2016, the first calendar-year advance since 
the index rose 4.0 percent in 2011. 


                                     SELECTED DECEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

Import Prices

Imports by Locality of Origin: Import prices from China recorded no change in December. The price 
index for imports from China declined 1.7 percent in 2016, the same decrease recorded in 2015; those are 
the largest calendar-year drops since the index fell 1.8 percent in 2009. Prices for imports from Japan also 
recorded no change in December, but in contrast to import prices from China, increased over the past year. 
The price index for imports from Japan rose 1.5 percent in 2016, the first calendar-year advance since a 0.7-
percent rise in 2012 and the largest since a 2.3-percent increase in 2011. Prices for imports from Canada and 
Mexico each rose in December, up 2.3 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. Import prices from the 
European Union fell 0.2 percent in December. 

Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: The price index for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials 
advanced 0.6 percent in December, after recording no change in November. The December advance was led 
by higher prices for steelmaking materials, chemicals, and industrial agricultural products. 

Finished Goods: Each of the major finished goods price indexes decreased in December. Consumer goods 
prices declined 0.3 percent for the second consecutive month, and decreased 1.0 percent in 2016. The 2016 
decline was the largest calendar-year decrease since consumer goods prices fell 1.2 percent in 2000. Prices 
for capital goods declined 0.2 percent in December and automotive vehicles prices edged down 0.1 percent. 

Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: The price index for foods, feeds, and beverages declined 1.4 percent in 
December, after a 1.3-percent increase the previous month. The downturn was led by lower fruit prices 
which had contributed to the advance in November. 

Transportation Services: Import air passenger fares advanced 1.3 percent in December following a 2.7-
percent drop the previous month. The December increase was driven by a 17.4-percent rise in Asian fares 
and an 8.3-percent advance in Latin American/Caribbean fares which more than offset falling European 
fares. Import air passenger fares declined for the second consecutive year, dropping 4.2 percent in 2016, 
after decreasing 9.9 percent in 2015. Prices for import air freight fell 0.7 percent in December and 0.9 
percent over the past 12 months. 

Export Prices

Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials 
prices rose 2.0 percent in December, led by a 7.7-percent increase in export fuel prices. 

Finished Goods: Export finished goods prices declined overall in December. Prices for consumer goods fell 
1.0 percent, the largest monthly decline since the index fell 1.4 percent in June 1991. Prices for automotive 
vehicles declined 0.2 percent. Capital goods prices recorded no change in December. Over the past year, the 
price indexes for consumer goods and automotive vehicles decreased 2.5 percent and 0.8 percent, 
respectively, in each case the largest calendar-year decline since the indexes were first published. 

Transportation Services: Export air passenger fares rose 7.7 percent in December following a 4.1-percent 
rise in November and a 2.5-percent advance in October. In December, European, Asian, and Latin 
American/Caribbean fares all increased. Overall export air passenger fares advanced 4.6 percent in 2016, 
after decreasing 14.6 percent the previous year. The price index for export air freight rose 0.2 percent in 
December; despite the advance, prices for export air freight fell 1.0 percent over the past 12 months. 

Import and Export Price Index data for January 2017 are scheduled for release on Friday, February 10, 2017 
at 8:30 a.m. (EST). 

					     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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