Prices in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), decreased 0.3 percent for the two months ending in October 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that food prices increased 0.1 percent, and the energy index increased 1.3 percent from August to October. The all items less food and energy index fell 0.5 percent over the past two months due to declines in the indexes for motor vehicle insurance, shelter, and other goods and services. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect 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 increased 0.9 percent over the year. Food prices rose 1.4 percent. Energy prices decreased 6.8 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.1 percent for the two months ending in October. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home (groceries) decreased 0.3 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.5 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 1.4 percent. Prices for food at home rose 3.7 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home decreased 1.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 1.3 percent for the two months ending in October. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for utility (piped) gas service (11.3 percent). Prices for electricity rose 3.2 percent, while prices for gasoline declined 5.1 percent for the same period.

Energy prices decreased 6.8 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-21.3 percent). Prices paid for utility (piped) gas service advanced 7.3 percent, and prices for electricity increased 5.7 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy declined 0.5 percent in the latest two-month period. Lower prices for motor vehicle insurance (-10.1 percent), shelter (-0.7 percent), and other goods and services (-0.8 percent) were partially offset by higher prices for household furnishings and operations (1.3 percent) and recreation (0.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 0.9 percent. Components contributing to the increase included medical care (3.2 percent) and household furnishings and operations (3.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in apparel (-9.2 percent) and shelter (-0.5 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	1.9	1.8
October	0.2	1.7	0.9	2.0	0.0	1.9	1.0	2.4	-0.3	0.5
December	-0.6	2.4	0.1	2.7	-0.6	1.2	-0.6	2.5

The December 2020 Consumer Price Index for Detroit is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 13, 2021.

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-
	Aug. 2020	Sep. 2020	Oct. 2020	Oct. 2019	Aug. 2020	Sep. 2020
Expenditure category
All items	240.598	-	239.922	0.5	-0.3	-
All items (1967=100)	715.157	-	713.147	-	-	-
Food and beverages	231.162	-	231.177	1.4	0.0	-
Food	230.575	-	230.736	1.4	0.1	-
Food at home	220.173	215.489	219.555	3.7	-0.3	1.9
Cereals and bakery products	267.911	-	266.768	-0.8	-0.4	-
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs	238.648	-	242.807	8.5	1.7	-
Dairy and related products	167.011	-	169.154	3.5	1.3	-
Fruits and vegetables	226.223	-	226.376	1.2	0.1	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	208.588	-	208.670	1.9	0.0	-
Other food at home	205.163	-	199.564	4.4	-2.7	-
Food away from home	247.971	-	249.246	-1.3	0.5	-
Alcoholic beverages	232.839	-	231.137	1.7	-0.7	-
Housing	229.436	-	229.928	0.7	0.2	-
Shelter	263.704	261.235	261.849	-0.5	-0.7	0.2
Rent of primary residence(2)	274.291	273.571	273.807	1.8	-0.2	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	264.490	261.524	261.776	0.4	-1.0	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	264.490	261.524	261.776	0.4	-1.0	0.1
Fuels and utilities	263.200	-	276.471	5.8	5.0	-
Household energy	203.368	208.908	215.910	6.3	6.2	3.4
Energy services(2)	205.394	211.029	218.130	6.3	6.2	3.4
Electricity(2)	253.963	260.640	262.055	5.7	3.2	0.5
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	143.006	147.207	159.164	7.3	11.3	8.1
Household furnishings and operations	121.766	-	123.364	3.5	1.3	-
Apparel	107.720	-	108.534	-9.2	0.8	-
Transportation	250.572	-	245.460	-1.0	-2.0	-
Private transportation	254.946	-	249.299	0.0	-2.2	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)	-	-	-	-	-	-
New vehicles(1)	-	-	-	-	-	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	310.732	-	321.601	12.0	3.5	-
Motor fuel	196.955	185.704	186.980	-21.3	-5.1	0.7
Gasoline (all types)	195.885	184.544	185.909	-21.3	-5.1	0.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)	196.126	184.860	185.578	-21.7	-5.4	0.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	235.888	219.060	226.623	-19.7	-3.9	3.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)	213.292	201.506	208.606	-16.6	-2.2	3.5
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	2,156.045	-	1,937.584	3.3	-10.1	-
Medical care	472.534	-	473.334	3.2	0.2	-
Recreation(4)	111.719	-	112.438	-1.2	0.6	-
Education and communication(4)	148.146	-	148.572	2.8	0.3	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,329.407	-	1,330.714	0.6	0.1	-
Other goods and services	451.173	-	447.770	1.1	-0.8	-
Commodity and service group
All items	240.598	-	239.922	0.5	-0.3	-
Commodities	176.617	-	177.117	-1.0	0.3	-
Commodities less food and beverages	148.799	-	149.472	-2.6	0.5	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	174.642	-	172.389	-9.1	-1.3	-
Durables	-	-	-	-	-	-
Services	305.671	-	303.760	1.3	-0.6	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	231.102	-	230.358	0.2	-0.3	-
All items less shelter	234.643	-	234.394	0.8	-0.1	-
Commodities less food	151.830	-	152.433	-2.4	0.4	-
Nondurables	202.593	-	201.460	-3.5	-0.6	-
Nondurables less food	178.490	-	176.281	-8.3	-1.2	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)	366.151	-	364.142	3.0	-0.5	-
Services less medical care services	294.273	-	292.064	0.9	-0.8	-
Energy	204.526	202.690	207.277	-6.8	1.3	2.3
All items less energy	246.846	-	245.887	1.0	-0.4	-
All items less food and energy	250.414	-	249.253	0.9	-0.5	-
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.