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News Release Information

18-323-CHI
Tuesday, March 13, 2018

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

Consumer Price Index, Detroit-Warren-Dearborn — February 2018

Local prices rose 2.1 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn area rose 0.3 percent from December to February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that over the bi-monthly period the food index and energy index rose 0.1 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively, while the index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher for other goods and services, motor vehicle insurance, 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 increased 2.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The food index and the energy index rose 0.5 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively, from February 2017 to February 2018. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.9 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

  Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in CPI-U, Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI, February 2015-February 2018
Food

Food prices increased 0.1 percent from December to February. Of the two components within the food index, prices for food at home (groceries) fell 0.2 percent and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were 0.4 percent higher.

Over the year, food prices in the Detroit area were up 0.5 percent. Prices for groceries fell 1.0 percent, while food away from home rose 2.8 percent, from February 2017.

Energy

The energy index for Detroit was 1.9 percent higher from December to February, primarily due to electricity costs rising 5.1 percent. Gasoline prices and utility (piped) gas service costs, increased 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, during the same period.

From February 2017 to February 2018, overall energy prices rose 6.5 percent. Gasoline prices increased 13.3 percent over the year. Electricity costs increased 1.5 percent, while utility (piped) gas service costs declined 1.1 percent.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent from December to February. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for other goods and services (4.1 percent) and apparel (3.1 percent). In contrast, the indexes for shelter and household furnishing and operations declined by 0.3 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.9 percent. Increases in indexes for shelter (3.9 percent) and medical care (3.7 percent) were major contributing factors.

Table A. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month 2-month 12-month

February

1.1 0.7 -0.7 -1.8 0.3 0.9 0.9 3.0 0.3 2.1

April

1.3 2.0 1.2 -1.9 1.4 1.1 0.7 2.3

June

0.5 1.3 0.0 -2.4 1.2 2.3 0.0 1.1

August

-1.0 1.0 0.6 -0.9 -0.1 1.7 0.1 1.3

October

-0.1 1.0 0.1 -0.7 0.2 1.7 0.9 2.0

December

-1.8 -0.1 -1.2 -0.1 -0.6 2.4 0.1 2.7

The April 2018 Consumer Price Index for Detroit is scheduled to be released on Thursday, May 10, 2018.

Consumer Price Index Geographic Revision for 2018

In January 2018, BLS introduced a new geographic area sample for the Consumer Price Index (CPI). As part of the new sample, the index for this area was renamed. The indexes using the new structure are published for the first time this month. Additional information on the geographic revision is available at: www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/geographic-revision-2018.htm.


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 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 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 75 urban areas across the country from about 5,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 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-Warren-Dearborn, MI, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, 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-Warren-Dearborn, MI (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)
Item and Group

Indexes Percent change from-
Dec.
2017
Jan.
2018
Feb.
2018
Feb.
2017
Dec.
2017
Jan.
2018

Expenditure category

All items

228.951 - 229.715 2.1 0.3 -

All items (1967=100)

680.539 - 682.809 - - -

Food and beverages

223.744 - 224.108 0.6 0.2 -

Food

223.257 - 223.409 0.5 0.1 -

Food at home

209.786 211.025 209.373 -1.0 -0.2 -0.8

Cereals and bakery products

261.195 - 255.487 - -2.2 -

Meats, poultry, fish and eggs

218.563 - 218.664 - 0.0 -

Dairy and related products

163.769 - 166.084 - 1.4 -

Fruits and vegetables

223.124 - 227.739 - 2.1 -

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

205.049 - 199.005 - -2.9 -

Other food at home

191.410 - 190.780 - -0.3 -

Food away from home

244.998 - 245.947 2.8 0.4 -

Alcoholic beverages

224.223 - 227.451 2.1 1.4 -

Housing

215.691 - 215.576 2.8 -0.1 -

Shelter

247.615 246.987 246.961 3.9 -0.3 0.0

Rent of primary residence(2)

251.310 252.432 252.758 3.6 0.6 0.1

Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)

246.752 246.641 246.272 4.3 -0.2 -0.1

Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)

246.752 246.641 246.272 4.3 -0.2 -0.1

Fuels and utilities

243.359 - 249.800 1.3 2.6 -

Household energy

186.690 192.713 192.787 1.1 3.3 0.0

Energy services(2)

188.053 193.925 193.987 0.3 3.2 0.0

Electricity(2)

216.782 228.084 227.946 1.5 5.1 -0.1

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

145.742 146.069 146.311 -1.1 0.4 0.2

Household furnishings and operations

118.215 - 116.345 -2.2 -1.6 -

Apparel

115.576 - 119.147 1.6 3.1 -

Transportation

235.390 - 235.052 4.0 -0.1 -

Private transportation

235.887 - 235.792 4.6 0.0 -

New and used motor vehicles(4)

106.818 - 103.772 - -2.9 -

New vehicles(1)

207.683 - 200.445 - -3.5 -

Used cars and trucks(1)

281.903 - 286.294 - 1.6 -

Motor fuel

227.824 239.242 229.183 13.4 0.6 -4.2

Gasoline (all types)

226.396 237.950 227.568 13.3 0.5 -4.4

Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)

227.160 239.150 228.523 13.9 0.6 -4.4

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)

269.610 281.416 269.741 11.4 0.0 -4.1

Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)

241.674 249.852 241.139 9.4 -0.2 -3.5

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

1,731.555 - 1,810.889 - 4.6 -

Medical care

438.617 - 442.547 3.7 0.9 -

Recreation(4)

116.340 - 117.332 -5.0 0.9 -

Education and communication(4)

142.692 - 142.243 0.0 -0.3 -

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

1,264.326 - 1,256.804 - -0.6 -

Other goods and services

403.214 - 419.863 4.1 4.1 -

Commodity and service group

All items

228.951 - 229.715 2.1 0.3 -

Commodities

175.568 - 176.000 1.8 0.2 -

Commodities less food and beverages

150.503 - 150.955 2.6 0.3 -

Nondurables less food and beverages

183.848 - 186.849 5.9 1.6 -

Durables

112.759 - 110.628 -2.0 -1.9 -

Services

283.592 - 284.680 2.3 0.4 -

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

220.448 - 221.060 2.0 0.3 -

All items less shelter

224.723 - 226.069 1.4 0.6 -

Commodities less food

153.232 - 153.768 2.6 0.3 -

Nondurables

203.791 - 205.575 3.1 0.9 -

Nondurables less food

186.547 - 189.567 5.6 1.6 -

Services less rent of shelter(3)

336.038 - 339.347 1.0 1.0 -

Services less medical care services

273.796 - 274.774 2.2 0.4 -

Energy

208.943 217.611 212.886 6.5 1.9 -2.2

All items less energy

233.754 - 234.226 1.7 0.2 -

All items less food and energy

236.252 - 236.782 1.9 0.2 -

Footnotes
(1) Index on a December 1977=100 base.
(2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator.
(3) Index on a December 1982=100 base.
(4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
(5) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(6) Index on a December 1993=100 base.

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

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, March 13, 2018