The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint area rose 0.9 percent from December to February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the food index increased 1.5 percent, while the energy index fell 0.8 percent over the bi-monthly period. The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.0 percent from December to February. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher for shelter, recreation, and household furnishings and operations. (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 increased 3.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index rose 16.6 percent over the year, primarily due to increases in gasoline prices. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.3 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices increased 1.5 percent from December to February following a 0.7-percent decrease over the previous bi-monthly period. Of the two components within the food index, prices for food at home (groceries) rose 1.6 percent and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 1.3 percent.

Over the year, food prices in the Detroit area edged down 0.1 percent. Grocery prices fell 1.4 percent while prices for food away from home increased 1.9 percent over the year.

Energy

The energy index for Detroit fell 0.8 percent from December to February. Electricity costs fell 2.7 percent and gasoline prices declined 0.8 percent during the same period. In contrast, the utility (piped) gas service index edged up 0.1 percent over the two-month period.

From February 2016 to February 2017, overall energy prices increased 16.6 percent. Prices for gasoline rose 40.0 percent over the year. The electricity index and the utility (piped) gas service index also rose by 1.8 and 2.1 percent respectively, but contributed little to the energy index’s movement.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.0 percent from December to February. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for shelter (1.2 percent), recreation (4.1 percent), and household furnishings and operations (2.8 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.3 percent. Among the index’s components, shelter and medical care recorded increases of 3.6 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.

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

Month	2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	1.1	1.9	1.1	0.7	-0.7	-1.8	0.3	0.9	0.9	3.0
April	0.0	1.3	1.3	2.0	1.2	-1.9	1.4	1.1
June	1.2	3.3	0.5	1.3	0.0	-2.4	1.2	2.3
August	-0.7	1.3	-1.0	1.0	0.6	-0.9	-0.1	1.7
October	-0.1	0.7	-0.1	1.0	0.1	-0.7	0.2	1.7
December	-0.7	0.8	-1.8	-0.1	-1.2	-0.1	-0.6	2.4

The April 2017 Consumer Price Index for Detroit is scheduled to be released on Friday, May 12, 2017.

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/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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-
	Dec. 2016	Jan. 2017	Feb. 2017	Feb. 2016	Dec. 2016	Jan. 2017
Expenditure category
All items	222.983	-	224.957	3.0	0.9	-
All items (1967=100)	662.798	-	668.665	-	-	-
Food and beverages	219.707	-	222.671	-0.1	1.3	-
Food	218.929	-	222.216	-0.1	1.5	-
Food at home	208.145	209.386	211.517	-1.4	1.6	1.0
Food away from home	236.115	-	239.239	1.9	1.3	-
Alcoholic beverages	224.577	-	222.722	0.2	-0.8	-
Housing	207.387	-	209.642	3.4	1.1	-
Shelter	234.908	235.668	237.788	3.6	1.2	0.9
Rent of primary residence(1)	242.366	243.102	243.881	2.6	0.6	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	233.531	234.442	236.148	3.7	1.1	0.7
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	233.531	234.442	236.148	3.7	1.1	0.7
Fuels and utilities	248.254	-	246.473	3.2	-0.7	-
Household energy	192.395	193.364	190.736	2.8	-0.9	-1.4
Energy services(1)	196.627	197.359	193.334	1.9	-1.7	-2.0
Electricity(1)	230.845	231.723	224.577	1.8	-2.7	-3.1
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	147.912	148.444	148.007	2.1	0.1	-0.3
Household furnishings and operations	115.694	-	118.933	2.1	2.8	-
Apparel	114.490	-	117.257	3.5	2.4	-
Transportation	226.222	-	225.952	6.3	-0.1	-
Private transportation	225.928	-	225.430	6.8	-0.2	-
Motor fuel	203.764	217.019	202.133	39.9	-0.8	-6.9
Gasoline (all types)	202.613	215.787	200.912	40.0	-0.8	-6.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)	202.726	216.645	200.692	41.3	-1.0	-7.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	243.443	256.456	242.211	35.1	-0.5	-5.6
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)	219.820	230.411	220.365	35.4	0.2	-4.4
Medical care	424.586	-	426.846	3.5	0.5	-
Recreation(5)	118.560	-	123.466	5.3	4.1	-
Education and communication(5)	144.394	-	142.238	-2.1	-1.5	-
Other goods and services	401.877	-	403.336	0.3	0.4	-
Commodity and service group
All items	222.983	-	224.957	3.0	0.9	-
Commodities	170.940	-	172.806	3.4	1.1	-
Commodities less food & beverages	145.727	-	147.073	5.8	0.9	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	175.200	-	176.434	11.7	0.7	-
Durables	111.562	-	112.918	-1.0	1.2	-
Services	276.247	-	278.362	2.8	0.8	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	214.823	-	216.795	3.0	0.9	-
All items less shelter	221.288	-	222.936	2.8	0.7	-
Commodities less food	148.572	-	149.838	5.6	0.9	-
Nondurables	197.317	-	199.386	5.0	1.0	-
Nondurables less food	178.376	-	179.442	10.8	0.6	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	334.750	-	335.984	2.1	0.4	-
Services less medical care services	266.870	-	268.965	3.0	0.8	-
Energy	201.628	208.044	199.945	16.6	-0.8	-3.9
All items less energy	227.855	-	230.234	1.9	1.0	-
All items less food and energy	230.052	-	232.271	2.3	1.0	-
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. Data not seasonally adjusted.