Prices in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 1.7 percent for the two months ending in June 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.  Acting Regional Commissioner Julie Wilson noted that the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.1 percent while the food index edged up 0.1 percent. The energy index increased 15.9 percent over the bi-monthly period. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were higher for motor vehicle insurance. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 0.5 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.3 percent over the year. Food prices rose 1.2 percent. Energy prices declined 9.4 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices crept up 0.1 percent for the two months ending in June.  Prices for food at home (groceries) edged up 0.1 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) were unchanged for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 1.2 percent. Prices for food at home increased 5.1 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home decreased 3.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index jumped 15.9 percent for the two months ending in June. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline which rose 35.1 percent from April to June. Prices for electricity rose 6.7 percent, and prices for utility (piped) gas service increased 3.7 percent for the same period.

Energy prices declined 9.4 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline which were down by 24.3 percent compared to June 2019. Prices paid for electricity jumped 11.1 percent, while prices for utility (piped) gas service decreased 1.3 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.1 percent in the latest two-month period. Among the index’s components, prices were higher for motor vehicle insurance (14.5 percent) and medical care (2.0 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy advanced 1.3 percent. Components contributing to the increase included medical care (5.6 percent), shelter (1.3 percent), and motor vehicle insurance (5.1 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in apparel (-9.4 percent) and used cars and trucks (-3.4 percent).

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

Month	2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.3	0.9	0.9	3.0	0.3	2.1	0.4	1.2	0.5	2.6
April	1.4	1.1	0.7	2.3	0.9	2.3	0.6	1.0	-2.7	-0.8
June	1.2	2.3	0.0	1.1	1.3	3.6	0.4	0.1	1.7	0.5
August	-0.1	1.7	0.1	1.3	-0.6	2.8	0.6	1.4
October	0.2	1.7	0.9	2.0	0.0	1.9	1.0	2.4
December	-0.6	2.4	0.1	2.7	-0.6	1.2	-0.6	2.5

The August 2020 Consumer Price Index for Detroit is scheduled to be released on Friday, September 11, 2020.

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 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-
	Apr. 2020	May 2020	Jun. 2020	Jun. 2019	Apr. 2020	May 2020
Expenditure category
All items	232.107	-	236.118	0.5	1.7	-
All items (1967=100)	689.917	-	701.841	-	-	-
Food and beverages	228.137	-	228.296	1.1	0.1	-
Food	227.353	-	227.505	1.2	0.1	-
Food at home	220.812	222.816	221.142	5.1	0.1	-0.8
Cereals and bakery products	273.221	-	255.452	-4.2	-6.5	-
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs	242.790	-	259.770	18.1	7.0	-
Dairy and related products	166.901	-	163.795	1.4	-1.9	-
Fruits and vegetables	231.845	-	228.155	2.9	-1.6	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	215.508	-	206.811	1.8	-4.0	-
Other food at home	196.285	-	199.400	3.3	1.6	-
Food away from home	239.212	-	239.111	-3.6	0.0	-
Alcoholic beverages	232.171	-	232.414	0.0	0.1	-
Housing	225.190	-	226.698	1.8	0.7	-
Shelter	260.074	260.423	260.348	1.3	0.1	0.0
Rent of primary residence(2)	271.921	272.435	272.342	3.1	0.2	0.0
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	260.543	260.882	261.555	2.4	0.4	0.3
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	260.543	260.882	261.555	2.4	0.4	0.3
Fuels and utilities	251.283	-	262.310	5.1	4.4	-
Household energy	192.633	199.185	203.281	5.9	5.5	2.1
Energy services(2)	194.529	201.184	205.333	6.1	5.6	2.1
Electricity(2)	238.302	248.811	254.184	11.1	6.7	2.2
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	137.561	140.024	142.681	-1.3	3.7	1.9
Household furnishings and operations	119.016	-	119.966	1.4	0.8	-
Apparel	103.018	-	101.200	-9.4	-1.8	-
Transportation	224.023	-	240.338	-2.9	7.3	-
Private transportation	227.584	-	243.456	-2.2	7.0	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)	112.742	-	-	-	-	-
New vehicles(1)	212.269	-	-	-	-	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	288.872	-	283.596	-3.4	-1.8	-
Motor fuel	139.366	161.967	187.253	-24.2	34.4	15.6
Gasoline (all types)	137.709	160.589	186.093	-24.3	35.1	15.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)	136.298	160.526	186.258	-24.6	36.7	16.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	179.478	193.969	225.849	-22.1	25.8	16.4
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)	164.903	178.104	202.527	-20.9	22.8	13.7
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	1,684.064	-	1,928.896	5.1	14.5	-
Medical care	462.205	-	471.475	5.6	2.0	-
Recreation(4)	112.691	-	112.582	-0.8	-0.1	-
Education and communication(4)	146.456	-	144.414	0.3	-1.4	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,323.621	-	1,328.968	2.2	0.4	-
Other goods and services	442.229	-	445.965	0.6	0.8	-
Commodity and service group
All items	232.107	-	236.118	0.5	1.7	-
Commodities	169.549	-	172.578	-2.9	1.8	-
Commodities less food and beverages	140.401	-	144.447	-5.4	2.9	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	159.028	-	168.971	-10.4	6.3	-
Durables	112.945	-	-	-	-	-
Services	295.764	-	300.771	2.6	1.7	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	222.664	-	226.455	0.0	1.7	-
All items less shelter	224.269	-	229.701	0.1	2.4	-
Commodities less food	143.637	-	147.582	-5.2	2.7	-
Nondurables	193.200	-	198.308	-4.3	2.6	-
Nondurables less food	163.975	-	173.205	-9.5	5.6	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)	348.353	-	359.266	3.8	3.1	-
Services less medical care services	284.476	-	289.059	2.0	1.6	-
Energy	172.691	186.527	200.151	-9.4	15.9	7.3
All items less energy	240.094	-	242.294	1.3	0.9	-
All items less food and energy	243.016	-	245.587	1.3	1.1	-
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.