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

U.S. import prices fell 0.3 percent in February following a 1.0-percent drop in January, the U.S. Bureau of 
Labor Statistics reported today. The February decrease was mostly led by declining fuel prices. The price 
index for U.S. exports decreased 0.4 percent in February, after falling 0.8 percent the previous month.  

Imports

All Imports: U.S. import prices fell 0.3 percent in February and have not recorded a monthly advance since 
the index ticked up 0.1 percent in June 2015. The February decrease followed declines of 1.0 percent in 
January and 1.2 percent in December. The price index for overall imports decreased 6.1 percent between 
February 2015 and February 2016. Despite the downward trend over the past 8 months, the 12-month drop 
recorded in February was the smallest over-the-year decline since the index fell 5.6 percent for the year 
ended in December 2014.               

Fuel Imports: Prices for import fuel declined 3.9 percent in February, after decreasing 21.9 percent over 
the previous 2 months. Fuel prices also have not recorded a monthly advance since June 2015 when the 
index rose 1.5 percent. Both petroleum and natural gas prices contributed to the February drop, falling 4.0 
percent and 6.3 percent, respectively. Prices for fuel declined 37.3 percent over the past year. A 38.5-percent 
decrease in petroleum prices over the period was the largest factor for the overall drop, although natural gas 
prices also fell for the year ended in February, declining 36.4 percent.          

All Imports Excluding Fuel: The price index for nonfuel imports edged down 0.1 percent in February, 
after recording no change the previous month. In February, lower prices for foods, feeds, and beverages; 
automotive vehicles; and nonfuel industrial supplies and materials more than offset rising consumer goods 
prices. Nonfuel import prices have not recorded a monthly increase since a 0.1-percent advance in July 2014 
and declined 2.7 percent over the past 12 months.        

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

Exports

All Exports: Overall export prices decreased 0.4 percent in February as declining nonagricultural prices 
more than offset rising agricultural prices. The February decline followed decreases of 0.8 percent in 
January and 1.1 percent in December. The price index for overall exports has not recorded a 1-month 
increase since the index advanced 0.5 percent in May 2015. Export prices fell 6.0 percent over the past year. 

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: The price index for nonagricultural exports declined 0.4 percent in 
February, after decreasing 2.0 percent over the 2 previous months. In February, falling nonagricultural 
industrial supplies and materials prices drove the overall decline in nonagricultural prices, although lower 
prices for automotive vehicles and consumer goods also declined. In contrast, capital goods prices 
increased. Prices for nonagricultural exports decreased 5.6 percent for the year ended in February.

Agricultural Exports: Prices for agricultural exports rose 0.6 percent in February, the first monthly 
advance since the index ticked up 0.1 percent in October 2015. The February increase was driven by a 6.8-
percent rise in fruit prices, a 3.1-percent advance in meat prices, and a 4.4-percent increase in corn prices. 
Despite the February advance, agricultural prices fell 10.4 percent over the past 12 months led by lower 
prices for meat, nuts, and soybeans over that period.    

					SELECTED FEBRUARY HIGHLIGHTS

Import Prices

Imports by Locality of Origin: In February, prices for imports from China edged down 0.1 percent for the 
third consecutive month and have not recorded a monthly advance since the index increased 0.1 percent in 
December 2014. Import prices from China declined 1.6 percent over the past year. Led by lower fuel prices, 
prices for imports from Canada, the European Union, and Mexico also fell in February, declining 0.8 
percent, 0.5 percent, and 0.9 percent, respectively. The 0.5-percent decrease for import prices from the 
European Union was the largest monthly drop since the index fell 1.1 percent in September 2015, and the 
0.9-percent decline for import prices from Mexico was the largest 1-month decrease since the index dropped 
1.3 percent in August 2015. In contrast, the price index for imports from Japan rose 0.1 percent in February. 

Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonfuel industrial supplies and materials prices edged down 
0.1 percent, led by lower prices for chemicals and building materials. The price index for nonfuel industrial 
supplies and materials has not recorded a 1-month increase since the index rose 0.5 percent in July 2014. 

Finished Goods: Consumer goods prices rose 0.3 percent in February, after advancing 0.4 percent in 
January. Both monthly increases were driven by higher prices for medicinal, dental, and pharmaceutical 
prices which rose 2.0 percent in February and 2.2 percent in January. In contrast, automotive vehicle prices 
fell 0.1 percent. In February, the price index for capital goods was unchanged from the previous month. 
    
Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: Foods, feeds, and beverages prices decreased 2.0 percent in February as a 
20.0-percent drop in vegetable prices more than offset an 8.3-percent rise in meat prices.              

Transportation Services: Import air passenger fares declined 1.5 percent in February, following a 1.0-
percent drop in January and a 0.6-percent decrease in December. In February, a 6.7-percent decline in Asian 
fares led the overall drop. Import air passenger fares decreased 3.3 percent for the year ended in February. 
The price index for import air freight fell 1.8 percent in February, after recording declines of 4.6 percent in 
January and 2.8 percent in December. Import air freight prices decreased 9.5 percent over the past year.      

Export Prices

Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: The price index for nonagricultural industrial 
supplies and materials decreased 2.1 percent in February and 15.2 percent over the past 12 months. Both 
declines were driven by lower fuel prices which declined 6.1 percent in February and 33.0 percent between 
February 2015 and February 2016.      

Finished Goods: The major export finished goods categories were mixed in February. Capital goods prices 
rose 0.3 percent, led by a 4.2-percent increase in prices for civilian aircraft engines. The last monthly 
increase for capital goods prices larger than 0.3 percent was a 0.7-percent advance in January 2013. In 
contrast, prices for automotive vehicles fell 0.2 percent, and consumer goods prices edged down 0.1 percent. 

Transportation Services: Export air passenger fares decreased 14.3 percent in February, driven by a 16.4-
percent drop in Asian fares and a 15.9-percent decline in Latin American/Caribbean fares. The February 
decrease was the largest monthly drop since the index was first published monthly in December 2000. 
Export air passenger fares fell 11.8 percent over the past year. Prices for export air freight recorded no 
change in February and decreased 0.4 percent over the past year.           

Import and Export Price Index data for March 2016 are scheduled for release on Tuesday, April 12, 2016 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 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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