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 April 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that food prices increased 1.0 percent, and the energy index rose 6.9 percent from February to April. The all items less food and energy index increased 1.4 percent over the past two months due to a rise in the index for shelter. (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 5.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.)  The index for all items less food and energy rose 3.5 percent over the year. Energy prices rose 34.9 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. Food prices increased 5.2 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 1.0 percent for the two months ending in April.  Prices for food at home (groceries) increased 1.2 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) advanced 0.8 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 5.2 percent. Prices for food at home increased 0.8 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home rose 11.0 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 6.9 percent for the two months ending in April. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (14.1 percent). Prices for utility (piped) gas service rose 2.6 percent, and prices for electricity were unchanged for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 34.9 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (80.4 percent). Prices paid for utility (piped) gas service increased 16.0 percent, and prices for electricity rose 6.1 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.4 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for shelter (2.9 percent) and other goods and services (1.3 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-2.4 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-1.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.5 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (4.0 percent) and household furnishings and operations (4.7 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a price decrease in apparel (-3.2 percent).

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

Month	2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.9	3.0	0.3	2.1	0.4	1.2	0.5	2.6	0.6	0.8
April	0.7	2.3	0.9	2.3	0.6	1.0	-2.7	-0.8	1.7	5.4
June	0.0	1.1	1.3	3.6	0.4	0.1	1.7	0.5
August	0.1	1.3	-0.6	2.8	0.6	1.4	1.9	1.8
October	0.9	2.0	0.0	1.9	1.0	2.4	-0.3	0.5
December	0.1	2.7	-0.6	1.2	-0.6	2.5	-0.3	0.7

The June 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn area is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, July 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 U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. 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 6,000 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; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000.  Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods 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-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 individuals with sensory impairments 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-
	Feb. 2021	Mar. 2021	Apr. 2021	Apr. 2020	Feb. 2021	Mar. 2021
Expenditure category
All items	240.570	-	244.708	5.4	1.7	-
All items (1967=100)	715.074	-	727.373	-	-	-
Food and beverages	236.615	-	238.922	4.7	1.0	-
Food	236.795	-	239.157	5.2	1.0	-
Food at home	219.957	218.907	222.583	0.8	1.2	1.7
Cereals and bakery products	266.491	-	269.401	-1.4	1.1	-
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs	233.297	-	241.770	-0.4	3.6	-
Dairy and related products	167.914	-	172.770	3.5	2.9	-
Fruits and vegetables	234.503	-	233.488	0.7	-0.4	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	219.621	-	217.442	0.9	-1.0	-
Other food at home	198.587	-	200.286	2.0	0.9	-
Food away from home	263.434	-	265.446	11.0	0.8	-
Alcoholic beverages	229.231	-	230.831	-0.6	0.7	-
Housing	230.595	-	235.459	4.6	2.1	-
Shelter	262.681	268.358	270.379	4.0	2.9	0.8
Rent of primary residence(2)	273.842	279.095	280.582	3.2	2.5	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	262.616	268.418	270.593	3.9	3.0	0.8
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	262.616	268.418	270.593	3.9	3.0	0.8
Fuels and utilities	270.430	-	272.667	8.5	0.8	-
Household energy	209.638	210.984	211.797	9.9	1.0	0.4
Energy services(2)	211.577	212.889	213.729	9.9	1.0	0.4
Electricity(2)	252.955	252.953	252.953	6.1	0.0	0.0
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	155.551	158.011	159.584	16.0	2.6	1.0
Household furnishings and operations	126.283	-	124.593	4.7	-1.3	-
Apparel	102.182	-	99.686	-3.2	-2.4	-
Transportation	243.815	-	253.473	13.1	4.0	-
Private transportation	248.568	-	257.953	13.3	3.8	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)	-	-	-	-	-	-
New vehicles(1)	-	-	-	-	-	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	310.918	-	351.228	21.6	13.0	-
Motor fuel	219.024	245.170	249.829	79.3	14.1	1.9
Gasoline (all types)	217.740	243.791	248.463	80.4	14.1	1.9
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)	218.536	245.197	250.067	83.5	14.4	2.0
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	261.919	288.644	294.360	64.0	12.4	2.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)	230.201	253.529	256.091	55.3	11.2	1.0
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	2,048.006	-	1,968.081	16.9	-3.9	-
Medical care	-	-	-	-	-	-
Recreation(4)	114.183	-	114.117	1.3	-0.1	-
Education and communication(4)	148.812	-	148.915	1.7	0.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,330.423	-	1,330.423	0.5	0.0	-
Other goods and services	448.637	-	454.500	2.8	1.3	-
Commodity and service group
All items	240.570	-	244.708	5.4	1.7	-
Commodities	179.081	-	182.921	7.9	2.1	-
Commodities less food and beverages	150.000	-	154.304	9.9	2.9	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	177.081	-	181.849	14.4	2.7	-
Durables	116.409	-	119.935	6.2	3.0	-
Services	303.012	-	307.421	3.9	1.5	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	230.922	-	235.318	5.7	1.9	-
All items less shelter	234.981	-	237.851	6.1	1.2	-
Commodities less food	152.890	-	157.126	9.4	2.8	-
Nondurables	206.522	-	210.073	8.7	1.7	-
Nondurables less food	180.492	-	185.024	12.8	2.5	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)	361.456	-	361.904	3.9	0.1	-
Services less medical care services	290.902	-	295.699	3.9	1.6	-
Energy	217.963	230.392	232.936	34.9	6.9	1.1
All items less energy	245.745	-	249.078	3.7	1.4	-
All items less food and energy	248.007	-	251.522	3.5	1.4	-
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.