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News Release Information

15-2197-CHI
Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (312) 353-1138

Consumer Price Index, Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint — October 2015

Local prices down 0.7 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint area increased 0.1 percent from August to October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that the energy index decreased 4.7 percent while the food index rose 0.6 percent over the bi-monthly period. The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent from August to October. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher for shelter, medical care, and apparel. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the past 12 months, the Detroit all items CPI-U fell 0.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index decreased 13.7 percent over the year due to declines in gasoline prices and utility (piped) gas services costs. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.9 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices were up 0.6 percent from August to October following a 0.2 percent increase over the previous bi-monthly period. Of the two components within the food index, prices for food at home (groceries) rose 0.9 percent and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.2 percent.

On an annual basis, food prices in the Detroit area were up 0.3 percent. Prices for food away from home were 3.3 percent higher while grocery prices declined 1.6 percent over the year.

Energy

The energy index for Detroit fell 4.7 percent from August to October. Prices declined for gasoline (-8.3 percent), electricity (-1.0 percent), and utility (piped) gas service (-1.5 percent).

From October 2014 to October 2015, overall energy prices decreased 13.7 percent. Gasoline prices fell 21.9 percent and utility (piped) gas service costs were 15.4 percent lower. In contrast, electricity prices rose 4.6 percent over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent from August to October. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for shelter (0.6 percent), medical care (1.6 percent), and apparel (4.0 percent). Prices for recreation were down 2.3 percent.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 0.9 percent. Major contributing factors include a 1.0-percent increase in the shelter index and a 2.3-percent increase in the medical care index. In contrast, the index for household furnishings and operations was 3.3 percent lower compared to a year ago.

Table A. Detroit CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20112012201320142015
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

February

0.21.70.63.91.11.91.10.7-0.7-1.8

April

2.33.10.62.10.01.31.32.01.2-1.9

June

0.94.2-0.80.41.23.30.51.30.0-2.4

August

0.24.11.21.5-0.71.3-1.01.00.6-0.9

October

-0.53.50.52.4-0.10.7-0.11.00.1-0.7

December

0.33.5-0.71.4-0.70.8-1.8-0.1  

The December 2015 Consumer Price Index for Detroit is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 20, 2016.


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 28 percent of the total population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force..

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 87 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 retail establishments--department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. Note: Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, Mich. consolidated area covered in this release is comprised of Genesee, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties in Michigan.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods
Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

 
Indexes
 
Percent change from-
Aug.
2015
Sep.
2015
Oct.
2015
Oct.
2014
Aug.
2015
Sep.
2015

Expenditure category

 
 

All items

220.249-220.506-0.70.1-

All items (1967=100)

654.673-655.435---

Food and beverages

219.720-221.1540.40.7-

Food

219.459-220.8630.30.6-

Food at home

208.828212.388210.805-1.60.9-0.7

Food away from home

236.261-236.7143.30.2-

Alcoholic beverages

217.106-218.8941.50.8-

Housing

201.174-201.695-0.10.3-

Shelter

226.622229.008228.0671.00.6-0.4

Rent of primary residence (1)

232.089233.900233.9792.80.80.0

Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1) (2)

224.136225.076225.3460.90.50.1

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1) (2)

224.136225.076225.3460.90.50.1

Fuels and utilities

242.245-238.922-3.5-1.4-

Household energy

190.237184.674188.019-4.7-1.21.8

Energy services (1)

193.646187.885191.286-4.0-1.21.8

Electricity (1)

224.712213.618222.3784.6-1.04.1

Utility (piped) gas service (1)

148.490148.777146.249-15.4-1.5-1.7

Household furnishings and operations

116.178-115.860-3.3-0.3-

Apparel

117.999-122.713-0.74.0-

Transportation

235.253-231.377-5.6-1.6-

Private transportation

235.104-230.469-5.5-2.0-

Motor fuel

239.794212.149220.032-22.0-8.23.7

Gasoline (all types)

238.418210.820218.651-21.9-8.33.7

Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)

241.612212.735220.798-23.0-8.63.8

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)

277.081247.323255.676-19.2-7.73.4

Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)

240.749218.652226.353-15.2-6.03.5

Medical care

399.216-405.7022.31.6-

Recreation (5)

114.704-112.060-0.3-2.3-

Education and communication (5)

144.558-146.2361.21.2-

Other goods and services

400.540-400.8932.20.1-
 

Commodity and service group

 
 

All items

220.249-220.506-0.70.1-

Commodities

175.281-174.614-3.3-0.4-

Commodities less food & beverages

152.291-150.633-5.8-1.1-

Nondurables less food & beverages

183.039-179.717-8.5-1.8-

Durables

115.599-115.623-1.40.0-

Services

266.685-267.8351.10.4-
 

Special aggregate indexes

 
 

All items less medical care

213.125-213.097-0.90.0-

All items less shelter

220.835-220.588-1.4-0.1-

Commodities less food

154.680-153.131-5.5-1.0-

Nondurables

201.218-200.206-3.9-0.5-

Nondurables less food

185.156-182.155-7.8-1.6-

Services less rent of shelter (2)

323.421-324.1421.10.2-

Services less medical care services

257.791-258.4911.00.3-

Energy

216.567201.051206.491-13.7-4.72.7

All items less energy

223.182-224.5410.80.6-

All items less food and energy

224.422-225.7750.90.6-

Footnotes
(1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.
(2) Index is on a December 1982=100 base.
(3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
(5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
 

- Data not available.
NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2015