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

U.S. import prices fell 0.3 percent in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, 
following increases of 0.4 percent and 0.1 percent the 2 previous months. The drop in November was 
primarily led by decreasing fuel prices. U.S. export prices also declined in November, edging down 0.1 
percent, after a 0.2-percent increase the previous month.  

Imports

All Imports: The price index for U.S. imports declined 0.3 percent in November, the largest monthly 
decrease since the index fell 0.5 percent in February. Prior to November, import prices had trended up since 
February, with the only decline coming in August when the index fell 0.2 percent. Despite rising throughout 
much of 2016, import prices remained down on a 12-month basis, declining 0.1 percent between November 
2015 and November 2016. The last over-the-year advance in import prices was a 0.9-percent increase in 
July 2014.                          

Fuel Imports: Fuel prices declined 3.9 percent in November, the largest monthly drop in the index since a 
6.8-percent decrease in February. In November, a 4.7-percent decline in petroleum prices more than offset a 
10.6-percent advance in natural gas prices. Natural gas prices increased 68.4 percent over the past 5 months. 
Import fuel prices advanced 2.7 percent for the year ended in November; a 2.4-percent increase in petroleum 
prices and a 13.6-percent rise in natural gas prices each contributed to the overall increase in fuel prices.

All Imports Excluding Fuel: Prices for nonfuel imports edged down 0.1 percent for the second consecutive 
month in November. Declining prices for finished goods and nonfuel industrial supplies more than offset 
higher foods, feeds, and beverages prices. Nonfuel prices declined 0.3 percent over the past year, after 
decreasing 3.2 percent between November 2014 and November 2015. The drop over the past year was 
driven by a 1.6-percent decline in capital goods prices and a 0.6-percent decrease in the price index for 
import consumer goods.                 

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

Exports

All Exports: The price index for overall exports edged down 0.1 percent in November, after increasing 0.2 
percent in October and 0.3 percent in September. In November, declining nonagricultural prices led the 
overall decrease. U.S. export prices also fell over the past 12 months, decreasing 0.3 percent. Export prices 
have not risen on a 12-month basis since the index rose 0.4 percent between August 2013 and August 2014.

Agricultural Exports: Agricultural prices increased for the second consecutive month in November, rising 
0.6 percent following a 0.5-percent advance in October. In November, the increase was driven by an 11.5-
percent rise in vegetable prices. Despite the recent advances, the price index for agricultural exports fell 1.2
percent for the year ended in November. Lower prices for nuts, corn, and wheat all contributed to the drop 
in agricultural prices over the past year.

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: Prices for nonagricultural exports declined 0.1 percent in November 
following a 0.2-percent advance the previous month. In November, decreasing prices for nonagricultural 
industrial supplies and materials, and consumer goods led the overall decline. Nonagricultural goods also 
fell over the past 12 months, decreasing 0.3 percent following a 5.8-percent decline for the year ended in 
November 2015.

					SELECTED NOVEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

Import Prices

Imports by Locality of Origin: Prices for imports from China declined 0.2 percent in November, after 
recording no change in October. Import prices from China have not increased on a monthly basis since a 
0.1-percent rise in December 2014; the index decreased 1.5 percent over the past year. In contrast, the price 
index for imports from Japan rose 0.2 percent for the second consecutive month in November. Prices for 
imports from Japan have not decreased on a monthly basis since the index edged down 0.1 percent in 
January; import prices from Japan advanced 1.3 percent over the past 12 months. The indexes for imports 
from Canada, the European Union, and Mexico all fell in November, led in part by lower fuel prices. Import 
prices from Canada declined 0.8 percent and prices for imports from the European Union and Mexico each 
decreased 0.1 percent.                                

Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonfuel industrial supplies and materials prices edged down 
0.1 percent in November following a 0.6-percent decline in October. The November decrease was driven by 
a 5.1-percent decline in other agricultural products prices and a 2.1-percent drop in prices for iron and steel 
mill products.            

Finished Goods: Each of the major finished goods price indexes fell in November. Capital goods prices 
declined for the second consecutive month in November led by a 0.4-percent decrease in the price index for 
computers, peripherals, and semiconductors. Prices for consumer goods and automotive vehicles each fell 
0.1 percent in November.                         

Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: Foods, feeds, and beverages prices rose 1.5 percent in November. A 5.5-
percent advance in fruit prices was the largest contributor to the overall increase.

Transportation Services: Import air passenger fares declined 2.7 percent in November following a 6.3-
percent advance the previous month. In November, the downturn was led by a 5.0-percent drop in Asian 
fares and a 1.2-percent decrease in European fares. The index for import air passenger fares also decreased 
over the past year, falling 6.0 percent. Import air freight prices declined 0.4 percent in November and 1.3 
percent over the past 12 months.

Export Prices

Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: The price index for nonagricultural industrial 
supplies and materials fell 0.4 percent in November following a 1.0-percent increase in October. The 
decrease in November was led by a 2.7-percent decline in fuel prices.

Finished Goods: Export consumer goods prices fell 0.2 percent in November, after a 0.5-percent decrease 
the previous month. The November decline was driven by lower prices for medical, dental, and 
pharmaceutical materials. The price indexes for capital goods and automotive vehicles each recorded no 
change in November.

Transportation Services: Export air passenger fares declined 0.6 percent in November as a 1.2-percent 
decrease in Latin American/Caribbean fares and a 0.5-percent drop in Asian fares more than offset a 1.9-
percent advance in European fares. Export air passenger fares declined 3.2 percent for the year ended in 
November. The price index for export air freight declined 0.1 percent in November and 1.4 percent over the 
past year.

Import and Export Price Index data for December 2016 are scheduled for release on Thursday, January 12, 
2017 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.