Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until                           USDL-15-1956
8:30 a.m. (EDT) Friday, October 9, 2015

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                         U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES - SEPTEMBER 2015

Prices for U.S. imports edged down 0.1 percent in September, after a 1.6-percent decrease in August, the 
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The continued downward trend in nonfuel import prices 
more than offset an advance in fuel prices. The price index for U.S. exports declined 0.7 percent in 
September, following a 1.4-percent drop the previous month. 

Imports

All Imports: U.S. import prices fell 0.1 percent in September, following declines of 1.6 percent in August 
and 1.0 percent in July. Unlike the decreases the 2 previous months where falling fuel and nonfuel prices 
each contributed to the decline, the September drop was entirely driven by lower nonfuel prices. The price 
index for overall imports decreased 10.7 percent between September 2014 and September 2015 and has not 
recorded a 12-month increase since the index rose 0.9 percent for the year ended July 2014. 

All Imports Excluding Fuel: The price index for nonfuel imports continued to trend downward in 
September, decreasing 0.3 percent following a 0.4-percent drop the previous month. Falling prices for 
nonfuel industrial supplies and materials; foods, feeds, and beverages; and capital goods more than offset a 
rise in consumer goods prices. Nonfuel import prices have not recorded a monthly advance since the index 
rose 0.1 percent in July 2014 and have declined 3.1 percent over the past year. 

Fuel Imports: In contrast, prices for import fuel advanced 1.4 percent in September, after declining 11.1 
percent in August and 6.4 percent in July. Both petroleum prices and natural gas prices contributed to the 
increase in September. Petroleum prices rose 1.1 percent, following an 11.8-percent decline in August and a 
6.6-percent drop in July. The price index for natural gas advanced 9.3 percent in September, the largest 
monthly increase for the index since an 11.1-percent rise in December 2014. Despite the September 
advance, overall fuel prices declined 44.7 percent over the past 12 months. The drop was led by a 46.1-
percent decrease in petroleum prices for the year ended in September, although a 27.3-percent drop in 
natural gas prices over the same period also factored into the overall decline. 

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

Exports

All Exports: Prices for U.S. exports fell 0.7 percent in September, following a 1.4-percent drop the 
previous month. Falling agricultural and nonagricultural export prices each contributed to the September 
and August declines. The price index for overall exports fell 7.4 percent over the past year, the largest year-
over-year decrease for the index since an 8.3-percent drop for the 12 months ended July 2009. 

Agricultural Exports: Agricultural export prices declined 1.1 percent in September, after falling 2.5 
percent in August. The decrease was mostly the result of an 8.3-percent drop in soybean prices, although a 
4.3-percent decline in nut prices also contributed to falling export agricultural prices. The price index for 
agricultural exports decreased 13.5 percent for the year ended in September. Declining prices for meat, 
soybeans, and wheat over the past year primarily drove the drop. 

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: Prices for nonagricultural exports declined 0.6 percent in September, 
following a 1.3-percent drop the previous month. The September decrease was led by declining prices for 
nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials, consumer goods, and automotive vehicles. Overall 
nonagricultural prices fell 6.7 percent over the past year, the largest 12-month drop for the index since the 
index was first published in March 1985. 


                                  SELECTED SEPTEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

Import Prices

Imports by Locality of Origin: Prices for imports from China declined 0.2 percent in September and 1.3 
percent over the past 12 months. The price index for imports from Japan recorded no change in September 
and has not increased on a monthly basis since the index rose 0.2 percent in March 2014. Prices for imports 
from Japan decreased 3.2 percent between September 2014 and September 2015. Import prices from the 
European Union declined 1.0 percent in September, the largest 1-month drop since a 1.6-percent decrease in 
January. The price indexes for imports from Canada and Mexico also fell in September, decreasing 0.4 
percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. 

Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: The price index for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials 
fell 0.9 percent in September, following a 1.9-percent drop the previous month. Lower prices for chemicals, 
metals, and building materials led the decrease. 

Finished Goods: Prices for the major finished goods categories were mixed in September. Import capital 
goods prices edged down 0.1 percent for the month and fell 2.3 percent over the past year. In contrast, prices 
for consumer goods ticked up 0.1 percent, after declines of 0.1 percent in August and 0.3 percent in July. 
The price index for automotive vehicles recorded no change in September. 

Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: Foods, feeds, and beverages prices declined 0.8 percent in September, after 
rising 0.3 percent in August. Falling prices for food oils, feedstuff, fruit, fish, and coffee all contributed to 
the overall drop in September. 

Transportation Services: Import air passenger fares declined 4.5 percent in September, following a 5.1-
percent drop the previous month. The September decrease was driven by lower Asian and Latin 
American/Caribbean fares which more than offset rising European fares. Overall import air passenger fares 
fell 7.2 percent for the year ended in September. The price index for import air freight declined 2.0 percent 
for the second consecutive month in September. Import air freight prices decreased 10.4 percent over the 
past 12 months. 

Export Prices

Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: In September, the price index for nonagricultural 
industrial supplies and materials fell 1.8 percent, after decreasing 3.7 percent in August. Both monthly 
declines were led by lower fuel prices which decreased 5.3 percent in September and 8.4 percent in August. 

Finished Goods: Finished goods prices were mostly down in September. The price index for consumer 
goods declined 0.2 percent, following 0.4-percent decreases in August and July. Automotive vehicle prices 
also fell in September, declining 0.1 percent. Prices for capital goods recorded no change in both September 
and over the past year. 

Transportation Services: Export air passenger fares decreased 10.8 percent in September, the largest 
monthly decline since the index fell 13.5 percent in February. The September drop was driven by a 23.2-
percent decrease in Asian fares. Overall export air passenger fares fell 16.3 percent over the past 12 months. 
Export air freight prices declined 0.8 percent in September and 2.1 percent over the past year. 

Import and Export Price Index data for October 2015 are scheduled for release on Tuesday, November 10, 
2015 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 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). 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.