Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until					USDL-16-0273
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                        U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES - JANUARY 2016

In January, prices for U.S. imports decreased 1.1 percent for the second consecutive month, the U.S. Bureau 
of Labor Statistics reported today. In both months, the declines were primarily driven by lower fuel prices. 
U.S. export prices also fell in January, decreasing 0.8 percent. The decline followed a 1.1-percent drop the 
previous month.  


Imports

All Imports: The price index for overall imports fell 1.1 percent in January, the largest monthly decrease 
for the index since a 1.8-percent drop in August 2015. Both fuel and nonfuel prices continued to trend 
down. Import prices fell 6.2 percent over the past year. Despite declining in January, the 12-month drop in 
import prices was the smallest over-the-year decrease since the index fell 5.6 percent between December 
2013 and December 2014.              

Fuel Imports: Import fuel prices declined 12.4 percent in January, the largest 1-month drop since a 12.7-
percent decline in August 2015. Import fuel prices have not risen on a monthly basis since a 1.5-percent 
advance in June 2015. The January drop was led by a 13.4-percent decline in petroleum prices, although 
natural gas prices also fell, decreasing 3.2 percent. The price index for import fuel declined 34.5 percent for 
the year ended in January, while over the same period petroleum prices fell 35.3 percent and natural gas 
prices decreased 40.1 percent.        

All Imports Excluding Fuel: In January, prices for nonfuel imports declined 0.2 percent after declining 0.3 
percent in each of the past 6 months. Lower prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials as well as 
capital goods drove the January drop in nonfuel import prices. In contrast, the price indexes for foods, feeds, 
and beverages; automotive vehicles; and consumer goods all rose in January. Nonfuel import prices 
decreased 2.9 percent over the past 12 months with each of the major import categories factoring into the 
decline.       


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

Exports 

All Exports: Prices for U.S. exports fell 0.8 percent in January and have not recorded a monthly advance 
since the index rose 0.5 percent in May 2015. In January, declining prices for both agricultural exports and 
nonagricultural exports contributed to the overall drop. The price index for overall exports fell 5.7 percent 
for the year ended in January.                     

Agricultural Exports: Agricultural export prices decreased 1.1 percent in January, after declining 1.0 
percent in December and 0.9 percent in November. Lower nut prices, which fell 7.8 percent in January, 
were the largest contributor to the decline for all 3 months. In January, falling prices for soybeans, meat, 
corn, and wheat also factored into the decrease. Prices for agricultural exports fell 12.7 percent from January 
2015 to January 2016.   

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: The price index for nonagricultural exports declined 0.8 percent in 
January, after a 1.1-percent decrease in December. The January drop was driven by lower nonagricultural 
industrial supplies and materials prices, although lower consumer goods prices and capital goods prices also 
contributed to the overall drop in nonagricultural export prices. In contrast, automotive vehicle prices 
advanced in January. Nonagricultural export prices declined 5.0 percent for the January 2015-16 period, 
following a 4.9-percent decrease over the previous 12-month period.


                                     SELECTED JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS

Import Prices

Imports by Locality of Origin: Import prices from China edged down 0.1 percent in January, following 
0.2-percent decreases in each of the previous 2 months. Prices for imports from China have not increased on 
a monthly basis since ticking up 0.1 percent in December 2014. The price index for imports from Japan also 
fell 0.1 percent in January. Import prices from Japan have not recorded a monthly advance since the index 
rose 0.2 percent in March 2014. Prices for imports from Canada declined 2.8 percent in January, led by 
lower fuel prices. Falling fuel prices in January also impacted the price index for imports from the European 
Union and from Mexico, which declined 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.                     

Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: The price index for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials 
fell 1.5 percent in January, after decreasing 1.1 percent the previous month. The January decline was led by 
a 2.2-percent drop in chemical prices and a 1.9-percent decrease in metal prices.     

Finished Goods: The major import finished goods categories were mixed in January. Capital goods prices 
declined 0.2 percent and last recorded a monthly advance when the index increased 0.1 percent in June 
2014. In contrast, prices for automotive vehicles rose 0.2 percent, and consumer goods prices ticked up 0.1 
percent.                

Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: Prices for foods, feeds, and beverages advanced 0.6 percent in January, the 
largest monthly rise for the index since a 0.7-percent increase in December 2014. The January advance was 
driven by a 10.9-percent increase in vegetable prices.              

Transportation Services: Import air passenger fares declined 1.0 percent in January, following a 0.6-
percent drop the previous month. In January, lower Asian and Latin American/Caribbean fares helped to 
offset an 11.0-percent increase in European fares. Overall import air passenger fares fell 4.3 percent over the 
past 12 months. The price index for import air freight declined 4.6 percent in January, the largest monthly 
drop for the index since a 4.9-percent decrease in December 2008. Import air freight prices fell 7.5 percent 
for the year ended in January.     


Export Prices

Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials 
prices declined 2.1 percent in January, after a 3.1-percent drop in December. Both decreases were led by 
falling fuel prices.      

Finished Goods: The price indexes for consumer goods and capital goods each fell in January while prices 
for automotive vehicles ticked up 0.1 percent. Consumer goods prices declined 0.4 percent for the second 
consecutive month. Prices for export capital goods edged down 0.1 percent in January and 0.7 percent over 
the past year, the largest 12-month decrease since the index fell 0.7 percent in January 2004. Those were the 
largest over-the-year declines since capital goods prices decreased 1.0 percent in November 2003.                 

Transportation Services: Export air passenger fares increased 6.2 percent in January, the largest monthly 
advance since the index rose 8.3 percent in December 2014. In January, a 9.0-percent increase in Asian 
fares was the largest contributor to the advance. Despite the January rise, export air passenger fares fell 9.7 
percent over the past year. The price index for export air freight rose 1.7 percent in January and declined 2.5 
percent over the past 12 months.          

Import and Export Price Index data for February 2016 are scheduled for release on Friday, March 11, 2016 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 
email subscription service at www.bls.gov/bls/list.htm. 
 
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.  
Voice phone: (202)-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-(800)-877-8339.