Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until				         USDL-10-0200
8:30 a.m. (EST) Wednesday, February 17, 2010

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                          U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES - JANUARY 2010

The U.S. Import Price Index advanced 1.4 percent in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 
today, as fuel and nonfuel prices each increased. The rise in overall imports followed a 0.2 percent uptick in 
December. Export prices rose 0.8 percent in January after advancing 0.6 percent in December and 0.8 
percent in November.


Imports 
 
All Imports: Import prices continued to increase in January, rising 1.4 percent after a 0.2 percent advance in 
December. Approximately three quarters of the increase was attributable to higher fuel prices. Import prices 
rose for the sixth consecutive month and 11.5 percent for the year ended in January, the largest 12-month 
gain for the index since a 13.1 percent jump for the September 2007-08 period.

Fuel Imports: Import fuel prices resumed an upward trend in January, rising 5.3 percent following a 0.6 
percent drop in December. A 4.8 percent increase in petroleum prices and an 18.8 percent advance in natural 
gas prices both contributed to the January increase. Despite increasing in each of the past four months, 
natural gas prices fell 2.9 percent for the year ended in January. The price index for petroleum jumped 95.5 
percent over the past year, driving overall fuel prices up 78.6 percent for the same period. The 12-month 
increase in fuel prices followed a 51.4 percent drop for the January 2008-09 period.

All Imports Excluding Fuel: Prices for nonfuel imports rose 0.4 percent for the fifth time in the past six 
months. The increase was led by higher prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials. Rising prices for 
foods, feeds, and beverages and consumer goods also factored into the overall advance. Nonfuel import 
prices increased 1.3 percent over the past year as the index has risen nine of the past ten months.


Table A. Percent changes

 

Exports

All Exports: Export prices rose 0.8 percent in January following 0.6 percent and 0.8 percent increases the 
previous two months. The 2.3 percent increase for the November-January period was the largest three-month 
advance in export prices since a 2.9 percent rise for the three months ended in July 2008. The January 
increase was driven by higher nonagricultural prices which accounted for approximately eighty percent of 
the overall advance. The price index for overall exports rose 3.4 percent over the past 12 months, the largest 
year-over-year increase since a 4.0 percent advance for the year ended October 2008.

Agricultural Exports: The price index for agricultural exports increased 1.4 percent in January and 4.5 
percent over the past year. The increase in January followed a 1.7 percent advance in December and was 
driven by rising nut prices. A 5.7 percent rise in soybean prices for the January 2009-10 period led the 12-
month increase in agricultural prices. 

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: Nonagricultural prices advanced 0.7 percent in January, the largest 
monthly increase since a similar 0.7 percent rise in August 2009. Increasing prices for nonagricultural 
industrial supplies and materials, capital goods, and automotive vehicles all contributed to the overall 
advance in January. The price index for nonagricultural export prices has risen each month since April and 
increased 3.3 percent for the year ended in January. 

 

                                      SELECTED JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS


Import Prices

Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: Prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials increased 
1.5 percent in January after rising 1.8 percent in December. Rising prices for metals and chemicals led the 
advances in each month. 

Finished Goods: Import finished goods prices were virtually unchanged in January, with a 0.2 percent 
increase in consumer goods prices offsetting 0.1 percent declines in the price indexes for capital goods and 
automotive vehicles. The increase in consumer goods prices was led by higher prices for medicinal, dental 
and pharmaceutical products. The January decreases for capital goods and automotive vehicles followed 
drops of 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively, in December. 
 
Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: The price index for foods, feeds, and beverages rose 1.3 percent in January, 
the largest monthly advance since a 1.3 percent rise in August 2009. Rising prices for fruits and vegetables 
were the primary contributors to the January increase.   

Imports by Locality of Origin: Higher fuel prices contributed to January increases in import prices from 
Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. Import prices from Canada rose 3.6 percent, the largest one-
month increase since a 3.6 percent rise in June 2008. The price indexes for imports from Mexico and the 
European Union rose 1.7 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, in January. In contrast, import prices from 
China fell 0.3 percent, the largest monthly drop since a 0.5 percent decline in April 2009. The January 
decline followed a 0.2 percent increase in December.  

Transportation Services: Import air passenger fares fell 3.2 percent in January after increasing in each of 
the three previous months. Lower European, Asian, and Latin American/Caribbean fares all contributed to 
the decline. The price index for import air freight also decreased in January, falling 7.6 percent. The decline 
was led by a 10.1 percent decrease in Asian air freight prices. 


Export Prices
 
Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials 
prices increased 1.9 percent for the second consecutive month in January. Both advances were driven by 
higher prices for metals, chemicals, and paper.   

Finished Goods: Prices for the major finished goods categories were mixed in January following an overall 
decline in December. The price indexes for capital goods and automotive vehicles each rose 0.2 percent, 
while prices for consumer goods fell 0.3 percent.  

Transportation Services: Export air passenger fares advanced 4.2 percent in January following a 10.2 
percent increase the previous month. For the second consecutive month, the rise was led by higher Asian and 
Latin American fares. The price index for export air freight rose 0.4 percent in January after advancing 0.4 
percent in November and 0.7 percent in December. 
		
Import and Export Price Index data for February 2010 are scheduled for release on Tuesday, March 
16, 2010 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.