Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until                              USDL-17-0591
8:30 a.m. (EDT) Wednesday, May 10, 2017

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                         U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES - APRIL 2017

The price index for U.S. imports advanced 0.5 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 
today, after ticking up 0.1 percent the previous month. Higher fuel prices and nonfuel prices each 
contributed to the increase in April. U.S. export prices rose 0.2 percent in April following a 0.1-percent 
advance in March. Prices for U.S. exports have not recorded a monthly decline since the index fell 0.8 
percent in August 2016.

Imports

All Imports: Import prices rose 0.5 percent in April and have not recorded a monthly decline since the 
index edged down 0.1 percent in November. Prices for U.S. imports rose 4.1 percent for the year ended in 
April, continuing the recent trend of 12-month increases over 4.0 percent, which are the largest over-the-
year advances for the index since a 5.1-percent increase in February 2012. Import prices have risen on a 12-
month basis since November. 

Fuel Imports: Fuel prices rose 1.6 percent in April following a 0.9-percent decline the previous month. A 
1.6-percent advance in petroleum prices and a 4.0-percent rise in natural gas prices each contributed to the 
April increase in overall fuel prices. The price index for import fuel advanced 42.7 percent over the past 
year in contrast to a 31.7-percent decline for the previous 12-month period ended April 2016. Petroleum 
prices rose 43.8 percent between April 2016 and April 2017 and natural gas prices increased 48.9 percent 
over the same period. 

All Imports Excluding Fuel: The price index for nonfuel prices advanced 0.3 percent in April, after 
increasing 0.2 percent in March and 0.4 percent in February. In April, higher prices for nonfuel industrial 
supplies and materials; foods, feeds, and beverages; and each of the major finished goods categories all 
contributed to the overall rise in nonfuel prices. Prices for nonfuel imports advanced 1.1 percent for the year 
ended in April. Rising prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials; automotive vehicles; foods, 
feeds, and beverages; and consumer goods more than offset lower capital goods prices for the year. 

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

Exports

All Exports: U.S. export prices continued to rise in April, increasing 0.2 percent. Higher prices for both 
agricultural and nonagricultural exports contributed to the overall advance in export prices. Prices for U.S. 
exports rose 3.0 percent over the past 12 months following a 5.1-percent drop for the year ended April 2016. 

Agricultural Exports: Agricultural export prices advanced 0.3 percent in April, after a 0.8-percent increase 
the previous month. In April, a 37.9-percent jump in vegetable prices more than offset falling prices for 
soybeans, corn, and wheat. The increase in vegetable prices was the largest monthly advance since the index 
was first published monthly in December 1996. The price index for agricultural exports rose 4.6 percent 
over the past year.

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: Prices for nonagricultural exports ticked up 0.1 percent for the second 
consecutive month in April. Higher prices for capital goods and automotive vehicles more than offset a drop 
in prices for industrial supplies and materials. The price index for nonagricultural exports increased 2.9 
percent over the past 12 months. The advance was primarily driven by a 9.6-percent rise in nonagricultural 
industrial supplies and materials prices. Consumer goods prices recorded no change in April. 


                                    SELECTED APRIL HIGHLIGHTS

Import Prices

Imports by Locality of Origin: Prices for imports from China edged down 0.1 percent in April, after rising 
0.2 percent in March and 0.1 percent in February. Despite the recent increases, import prices from China fell 
1.2 percent over the past year and have not risen on a 12-month basis since October 2014. In contrast, the 
price indexes for imports from Mexico, Canada, and the European Union all increased in April, rising 2.2 
percent, 0.6 percent, and 0.2 percent, respectively. Prices for imports from Japan recorded no change in 
April following a 0.1-percent advance in March and a 0.2-percent rise in February. 

Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: Prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials increased 
0.8 percent in April, after advancing 1.5 percent the previous month. The April rise was led by a 2.6-percent 
advance in building materials prices. 

Finished Goods: Prices for each of the major finished goods categories increased in April. Automotive 
vehicles prices increased 0.5 percent, the largest monthly advance for the index since a 0.7-percent rise in 
April 2012. The price indexes for capital goods and consumer goods each ticked up 0.1 percent in April. 
Capital goods prices declined 0.3 percent over the past year and prices for consumer goods advanced 0.2 
percent. 

Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: Foods, feeds, and beverages prices advanced 0.3 percent in April following 
a 0.5-percent decrease in March. The April increase was led by a 3.6-percent rise in fruit prices, which also 
advanced 33.0 percent over the past 12 months. 

Transportation Services: Import air passenger fares decreased 3.2 percent in April, after declining 6.4 
percent over the previous 3 months. The April decline was driven by a 7.5-percent drop in European fares. 
The index for import air passenger fares declined 9.1 percent between April 2016 and April 2017. Import air 
freight prices increased 0.7 percent in April and 7.5 percent over the past 12 months. 


Export Prices

Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials 
prices edged down 0.1 percent for the second consecutive month in April. The decrease was led by lower 
prices for chemicals, coal, and paper stocks. 

Finished Goods: Finished goods prices were mostly up in April. Capital goods prices increased 0.2 percent 
for the fifth consecutive month and have not recorded a monthly decline since October. Prices for 
automotive vehicles advanced 0.3 percent, driven by a 0.7-percent rise in non-engine automobile parts. The 
price index for consumer goods recorded no change in April, after rising 0.3 percent in March. 

Transportation Services: Export air passenger fares declined 5.8 percent in April following a 3.0-percent 
advance in March. The April downturn was led by a 10.1-percent decrease in European fares. The index for 
export air passenger fares fell 1.4 percent for the year ended in April. Lower European and Asian fares over 
the past year both contributed to the decline. Prices for export air freight decreased 0.2 percent in April and 
rose 3.2 percent over the past year. 

Import and Export Price Index data for May 2017 are scheduled for release on Thursday, June 15, 2017 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 
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.