Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until                            USDL-17-1291
8:30 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, September 19, 2017

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

U.S. import prices increased 0.6 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, 
following declines in the previous 3 months. The price index for U.S. exports also advanced 0.6 percent in 
August, after increasing 0.5 percent in July.


Hurricane Harvey: Hurricane Harvey did not impact the collection of the import and export price index 
data for August because the reference period for the data is the first week of the month. 


Imports

All Imports: Import prices rose 0.6 percent in August, the first monthly rise since a 0.2-percent increase in 
April and the largest advance since the index rose 0.6 percent in January. The last time import prices 
recorded a larger increase was a 0.7-percent advance in June 2016. Higher import prices for both fuel and 
nonfuel contributed to the rise in August. Prices for U.S. imports also increased over the past 12 months, 
advancing 2.1 percent. 

Fuel Imports: Fuel prices increased 4.2 percent in August, the first monthly advance since the index rose 
0.3 percent in February and the largest advance since the index increased 6.1 percent in January. Prior to 
August, prices for import fuel fell 8.3 percent between February and July. The August advance was driven 
by a 4.8-percent rise in petroleum prices which more than offset a 5.7-percent drop in natural gas prices. 
The price index for import fuel increased 15.0 percent between August 2016 and August 2017, led by a 
15.8-percent advance in petroleum prices over the same period. Prices for natural gas ticked up 0.1 percent 
for the year ended in August. 

All Imports Excluding Fuel: The price index for nonfuel imports advanced 0.3 percent in August, after 
edging down 0.1 percent in July. In August, advances for each of the major end-use categories contributed 
to the overall rise in nonfuel prices. Prices for nonfuel imports increased 1.0 percent over the past year. The 
rise was led by a 3.9-percent advance in nonfuel industrial supplies and materials prices, although rising 
prices for each of the major finished goods categories and foods, feeds, and beverages also contributed to 
the overall advance in nonfuel prices. 

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

Exports

All Exports: U.S. export prices rose 0.6 percent in August following a 0.5-percent increase the previous 
month. The August advance was the largest monthly rise since the index increased 0.8 percent in June 2016. 
Prices for exports advanced 2.3 percent over the past year. Both agricultural export prices and 
nonagricultural export prices contributed to the August and 12-month increases for overall export prices.

Agricultural Exports: The price index for agricultural exports ticked up 0.1 percent in August, after rising 
1.9 percent in July. In August, higher prices for soybeans and other oilseeds, fruit, and meat more than 
offset lower wheat and corn prices. Export agricultural prices increased 1.9 percent over the past year, 
driven by increasing meat, wheat, and vegetable prices.

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: Nonagricultural export prices advanced 0.7 percent in August 
following a 0.3-percent rise the previous month. The increase was the largest monthly advance since a 1.0-
percent rise in May 2016. In August, the increase was driven by rising nonagricultural industrial supplies 
and materials prices. Each of the major finished goods categories also contributed to the overall increase in 
nonagricultural export prices in August. The price index for nonagricultural exports advanced 2.4 percent 
for the year ended in August, led by rising nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials prices. 


                                      SELECTED AUGUST HIGHLIGHTS

Import Prices

Imports by Locality of Origin: Import prices from China recorded no change in August, after edging up 
0.1 percent in July. Prices for imports from China fell 0.7 percent for the year ended in August, the smallest 
over-the-year decline since the index fell 0.5 percent between April 2014 and April 2015. Import prices 
from Japan decreased 0.5 percent in August following declines of 0.2 percent in July and 0.1 percent in 
June. In contrast, rising petroleum prices contributed to higher import prices from Canada, the European 
Union, and Mexico in August. The price index for imports from Canada rose 1.4 percent, import prices from 
the European Union advanced 0.8 percent, and prices for imports from Mexico increased 0.6 percent. 

Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonfuel industrial supplies and materials prices rose 0.8 
percent in August, after decreasing 0.5 percent the previous month. The August advance was led by a 2.5-
percent increase in unfinished metals prices and a 2.2-percent rise in prices for selected building materials. 

Finished Goods: Each of the major finished goods categories recorded increasing prices in August. 
Automotive vehicles prices rose 0.2 percent in August following a 0.2-percent decline in July. The August 
increase was driven by a 0.4-percent advance in automotive parts prices. The price indexes for capital goods 
and consumer goods each ticked up 0.1 percent in August. 

Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: Import foods, feeds, and beverages prices advanced 0.3 percent in August, 
after edging down 0.1 percent in July. The August increase was led by a 1.8-percent rise in fruit prices 
which more than offset falling meat prices.

Transportation Services: Import air passenger fares declined 10.6 percent in August following a 2.8-
percent drop in July. Lower European and Asian fares contributed to the August decline which was the 
largest monthly drop since the index was first published on a monthly basis in December 2000. Import air 
passenger fares decreased 7.4 percent over the past year. The price index for import air freight rose 0.2 
percent in August and 20.4 percent over the past 12 months. 

Export Prices

Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials 
prices increased 1.7 percent in August, after rising 0.6 percent in July. The August increase was led by a 
4.3-percent rise in fuel prices; higher prices for nonferrous metals and chemicals also contributed to the 
overall advance.

Finished Goods: The price index for each of the major finished goods categories rose 0.2 percent in 
August. Capital goods prices have not risen by more than 0.2 percent since a 0.3-percent advance in 
February 2014; the index has not recorded a decline since edging down 0.1 percent in October 2016. The 
0.2-percent increase in consumer goods prices followed a 0.5-percent advance in July and was led by higher 
medicinal, dental, and pharmaceutical prices. The 0.2-percent advance in automotive vehicles prices was 
driven by a 0.5-percent increase for transport vehicle prices. 

Transportation Services: Export air passenger fares declined 1.3 percent in August and 1.5 percent over 
the past 12 months. The August decrease was driven by a 14.1-percent drop in European fares which more 
than offset a 16.4-percent rise in Asian fares. The price index for export air freight fell 0.3 percent in 
August. Despite the decline, export air freight prices advanced 2.7 percent for the year ended in August.

Import and Export Price Index data for September 2017 are scheduled for release on Tuesday, October 17, 
2017 at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).

                                         TECHNICAL NOTE


Announcement - The Bureau of Labor Statistics is utilizing new index estimation and review systems 
for the import and export price indexes effective with the release of the June 2017 price data on July 18, 
2017. The new estimation and index review systems, the first major improvement to the existing 
systems in over 20 years, are redesigned, state-of-the-art systems with improved flexibility and review 
capabilities. The changes to the systems will not have a significant effect on the estimates of price 
change for the U.S. import and export price indexes.

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.