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

U.S. import prices advanced 0.5 percent in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, after 
a 0.2-percent increase in September. The October increase was driven by higher fuel prices which more than 
offset declining nonfuel prices. The price index for U.S. exports increased 0.2 percent in October following 
a 0.3-percent advance the previous month.  

Imports

All Imports: Prices for U.S. imports rose for the second consecutive month, advancing 0.5 percent in 
October following a 0.2-percent advance the previous month. Import prices fell 0.2 percent in August, the 
only monthly decline since February. Despite trending up over most of 2016, import prices edged down 0.2 
percent for the year ended in October.                          

Fuel Imports: The price index for import fuel rose 7.2 percent in October, after a 1.5-percent advance in 
September and monthly declines in August and July. Both petroleum and natural gas contributed to the 
overall October rise in fuel prices, increasing 7.5 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively. Import fuel prices 
rose 3.8 percent over the past year, the first 12-month advance for the index since a 2.9-percent increase in 
July 2014. The October 12-month increase was led by a 4.5-percent rise in petroleum prices which more 
than offset a 2.8-percent drop in natural gas prices.                  

All Imports Excluding Fuel: In contrast, nonfuel prices fell 0.1 percent for the second consecutive month 
in October. The decline was driven by falling prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials; capital 
goods; and foods, feeds, and beverages which more than offset rising prices for automotive vehicles and 
consumer goods. The price index for nonfuel imports fell for the year ended in October, decreasing 0.4 
percent. Prices over the past 12 months declined across all categories except two; foods, feeds, and 
beverages rose 4.0 percent and automotive vehicles recorded no change.                 
  
Table A. Percent change in Import and Export Price Indexes, selected categories

Exports

All Exports: U.S. export prices increased 0.2 percent in October following a 0.3-percent advance in 
September. In October, higher agricultural and nonagricultural prices both contributed to the overall 
advance. Despite the recent increases, prices for U.S. exports fell over the past year, declining 1.1 percent. 
The over-the-year drop in export prices was the smallest 12-month decrease since the index fell 0.7 percent 
in October 2014.                           

Agricultural Exports: The price index for agricultural exports increased 0.4 percent in October, after 
decreasing 4.9 percent over the previous 3 months. The upturn in October was led by increasing prices for 
fruit, nuts, and wheat, which rose 4.4 percent, 5.1 percent, and 4.0 percent, respectively. Those increases 
more than offset a 3.1-percent drop in soybean prices which fell for the third consecutive month. Overall 
agricultural prices declined 3.0 percent for the year ended in October.        

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: Nonagricultural prices increased 0.2 percent in October following a 
0.4-percent rise the previous month. In October, higher prices for nonagricultural industrial supplies and 
materials and automotive vehicles more than offset falling prices for consumer goods and capital goods. 
Prices for nonagricultural exports declined 0.8 percent between October 2015 and October 2016.

                                          SELECTED OCTOBER HIGHLIGHTS                                           

Import Prices

Imports by Locality of Origin: Import prices from China recorded no change in October and declined 1.6 
percent over the past year. Prices for imports from China have fallen or recorded no change on a monthly 
basis since December 2014 and on a 12-month basis since October 2014. The price index for imports from 
Japan continued a 4-month upward trend in October, rising 0.2 percent. Import prices from Japan rose 1.2 
percent over the past 12 months, the largest over-the-year increase since September 2012. Price indexes rose 
in October for other major trading partners. Prices for imports from Canada rose 1.4 percent, driven by 
higher fuel prices. The price index for imports from the European Union advanced 0.2 percent and import 
prices from Mexico increased 0.1 percent.                                

Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: Prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials declined 
0.7 percent for the second consecutive month in October. Lower prices for unfinished metals were the 
primary contributor to the monthly decreases in both October and September.           
 
Finished Goods: Finished goods prices were mixed in October. Prices for automotive vehicles rose 0.3 
percent, matching the largest 1-month advance since the index rose 0.7 percent in April 2012. Consumer 
goods also increased, ticking up 0.1 percent. In contrast, capital goods prices fell 0.2 percent driven by a 
1.2-percent drop in computer prices.                        

Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: Foods, feeds, and beverages prices decreased 0.6 percent in October, led by 
a 3.8-percent decline in vegetable prices and a 2.7-percent drop in meat prices.                  

Transportation Services: Import air passenger fares rose 6.3 percent in October following a 4.2-percent 
rise the previous month. Higher European, Asian, and Latin American/Caribbean fares contributed to the 
overall October increase. Import air passenger fares advanced 0.2 percent for the year ended in October. The 
price index for import air freight increased 4.0 percent in October and fell 4.2 percent over the past year. 
The October advance was the largest monthly rise since the index increased 5.0 percent in October 2015.

Export Prices

Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: Prices for nonagricultural industrial supplies and 
materials increased 0.9 percent in October, after rising 1.3 percent the previous month. Both increases were 
led by higher fuel prices which increased 5.3 percent in October and 5.9 percent in September.           

Finished Goods: Export consumer goods prices fell 0.7 percent in October, the largest drop since the index 
declined 0.8 percent in January. Capital goods prices also decreased in October, edging down 0.1 percent. 
Automotive vehicle prices advanced 0.2 percent which was largely attributable to year-end model 
changeovers.                   

Transportation Services: Export air passenger fares increased 1.9 percent in October following an 11.1-
percent decline the previous month. The index for export air passenger fares fell 3.6 percent over the past 12 
months, driven by a 5.7-percent drop in Asian fares and a 3.6-percent decline in European fares. Prices for 
export air freight rose 0.7 percent in October and decreased 1.1 percent over the past year.              

Import and Export Price Index data for November 2016 are scheduled for release on Tuesday, December 13, 
2016 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 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.