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                                   U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES
                                                - JUNE 2009 -

   The U.S. Import Price Index rose 3.2 percent in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. 
Department of Labor reported today, led by higher petroleum prices.  The June increase followed a 1.4 
percent advance in May.  Export prices also increased in June, rising 1.1 percent after advancing 0.5 
percent in the previous month.

                              Percent changes in import and export price indexes
                                             by End Use category
                                          - not seasonally adjusted -

  

Import Goods
   
   U.S import prices increased 3.2 percent in June, the largest monthly advance since a 3.2 percent 
rise in November 2007.  Import prices have risen for each of the past four months but decreased overall 
for the year ended in June, declining 17.4 percent.  The June increase in import prices was driven by a 
20.3 percent jump in petroleum prices, the largest monthly advance for that index since a 20.5 percent 
increase in April 1999.  Petroleum prices have risen 69.5 percent since January but, despite the recent 
advances, fell 45.9 percent over the past 12 months.  Nonpetroleum import prices ticked up 0.2 percent 
in June, and decreased 6.5 percent over the past year.    
    
   The advance in nonpetroleum prices was led by a 0.7 percent increase in the price index for 
nonpetroleum industrial supplies and materials.  Higher prices for unfinished metals were the primary 
contributor to the June increase in nonpetroleum industrial supplies and materials prices, which followed 
a 0.8 percent rise in May.
   
   Prices for foods, feeds, and beverages, for consumer goods, and for automotive vehicles also 
rose in June.  Foods, feeds, and beverages prices increased 0.5 percent as higher prices for meat and 
coffee more than offset lower vegetable prices.  The price indexes for consumer goods and automotive 
vehicles each ticked up 0.1 percent. 
   
   In contrast, capital goods prices edged down 0.1 percent in June, led by a 0.5 percent decrease in 
computer prices.  Excluding computer prices, capital goods prices advanced 0.1 percent.  


Export Goods 

   Export prices rose for the third consecutive month in June, advancing 1.1 percent following 0.5 
percent increases in each of the two previous months.  Higher prices for both agricultural and 
nonagricultural exports contributed to the overall increase in June which was the largest monthly rise in 
export prices since a 1.5 percent increase in July 2008.  Despite the advance, export prices declined 6.4 
percent over the past year.  Prices for agricultural exports increased 4.8 percent in June and 12.7 percent 
for the second quarter of 2009, the largest three-month gain since the first quarter of 2008.  Both 
advances were led by rising prices for soybeans, corn, and wheat.  Even with the increase over the past 
three months, agricultural prices fell 12.5 percent for the June 2008-2009 period.  Nonagricultural prices 
rose 0.8 percent in June, but decreased 5.7 percent over the past 12 months.  
   
   A 2.2 percent increase in the price index for nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials led 
the overall advance in nonagricultural prices in June.  Higher prices for fuels, chemicals, and metals all 
contributed to the advance.
   
   Capital goods prices and consumer goods prices also rose in June, advancing 0.2 percent and 0.5 
percent, respectively.  The increase in capital goods prices was driven by a 0.4 percent rise in the price 
index for transportation equipment while higher consumer goods prices were led by a 0.9 percent 
advance in medicinal, dental, and pharmaceutical prices.   
   
   In contrast, the price index for automotive vehicles edged down 0.1 percent in June after 
remaining unchanged in May.  
   

Imports by Locality of Origin 
	
   Led by higher fuel prices in June, the price indexes for imports from Canada and from Mexico 
rose 2.8 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.  Despite rising in June, each index remained down over 
the past year; import prices from Canada fell 24.8 percent for the year ended in June while prices for 
imports from Mexico decreased 13.5 percent for the same period.  
    
   Import prices from the European Union and from Japan both advanced 0.7 percent in June after 
falling 0.2 percent and remaining unchanged, respectively, the previous month.  The price index for 
imports from the European Union fell 7.2 percent for the year ended in June, while prices for imports 
from Japan rose 1.9 percent.
   
   In contrast, prices for imports from China decreased 0.1 percent in June after recording no 
change in May.  Overall import prices from China decreased 2.4 percent for the June 2008-2009 period, 
the largest 12-month drop since the index was first published in December 2003.


Import and Export Services

   Import air passenger fares increased for the first time since October 2008, rising 13.0 percent in 
June.  The advance was led by a 28.6 percent seasonal increase in European fares.  Export air passenger 
fares rose in June, advancing 2.1 percent, which was the first increase for the index since January and 
was also driven by higher European fares.  Despite the increases, both import air passenger fares and 
export air passenger fares fell over the past 12 months, declining 14.2 percent and 20.7 percent, 
respectively.
	
   The price index for import air freight advanced 1.4 percent in June after a 0.9 percent increase 
the previous month.  The index fell 15.6 percent for the year ended in June.  In contrast, export air 
freight prices fell 1.2 percent in June, led by a 2.2 percent drop in European air freight prices.  Overall, 
export air freight prices declined 16.6 percent over the past year.


CONTENTS OF RELEASE

This news release includes the following tables:

Table 1    U.S. Import Price Indexes, by End Use
Table 2    U.S. Export Price Indexes, by End Use
Table 3    U.S. Import Price Indexes, by NAICS
Table 4    U.S. Export Price Indexes, by NAICS
Table 5    U.S. Import Price Indexes, by Harmonized System
Table 6    U.S. Export Price Indexes, by Harmonized System
Table 7    U.S. Import Price Indexes, by Locality of Origin
Table 8    U.S. International Price Indexes for Selected Transportation Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Import and Export Price Index data for July 2009 are scheduled for release on August 13, 2009 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 for merchandise goods 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 excluded from both 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 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 IPP news release is available through an e-mail subscription service at 
(http://www.bls.gov/mxp) or (http://www.bls.gov/bls/newsrels.htm).
 
Additional Information -- More detailed IPP data are available on the IPP 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 IPP-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 IPP 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.