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News Release Information

23-961-CHI
Wednesday, May 10, 2023

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

Consumer Price Index, Detroit-Warren-Dearborn area – April 2023

Area prices were up 2.1 percent over the past two months, up 6.6 percent from a year ago

Prices in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 2.1 percent for the two months ending in April 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that food prices rose 0.9 percent and energy costs were up 2.3 percent from February to April. The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.3 percent due to advances in the indexes for shelter and new and used motor vehicles. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 6.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 7.6 percent over the year. Food prices rose 7.9 percent. Energy prices decreased 4.6 percent, largely the result of a decline in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)


Food

Food prices rose 0.9 percent for the two months ending in April. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home (groceries) rose 1.2 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) advanced 0.4 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 7.9 percent. Prices for food at home increased 7.6 percent since a year ago. Five of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased over the year. The index for other food at home (includes sugar, sweets, fats, and oils, for example) was up 14.0 percent and the index for cereals and bakery products increased 10.5 percent over the year. Prices for food away from home increased 8.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index increased 2.3 percent for the two months ending in April. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (5.6 percent). Prices for electricity rose 5.1 percent, while prices for utility (piped) gas service declined 7.1 percent for the same period.

Energy prices decreased 4.6 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-10.9 percent). Prices paid for electricity rose 6.7 percent, while prices for utility (piped) gas service decreased 1.2 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 2.3 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for shelter (3.5 percent) and new and used motor vehicles (5.5 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for apparel (-3.3 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-1.8 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 7.6 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (8.9 percent) and new vehicles (7.0 percent).

Table A. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI, CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted
Month20192020202120222023
2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month2-month12-month

February

0.41.20.52.60.60.81.17.51.97.0

April

0.61.0-2.7-0.81.75.42.58.32.16.6

June

0.40.11.70.51.75.43.09.7

August

0.61.41.91.80.53.9-0.58.6

October

1.02.4-0.30.51.25.51.18.5

December

-0.62.5-0.30.71.17.0-1.06.2

The June 2023 Consumer Price Index for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn area is scheduled to be released on July 12, 2023.


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Detroit is published bi-monthly. 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, 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 atwww.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 consolidated 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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

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

IndexesPercent change from-
Feb.
2023
Mar.
2023
Apr.
2023
Apr.
2022
Feb.
2023
Mar.
2023

Expenditure category

All items

276.741-282.4866.62.1-

All items (1967=100)

822.589-839.665---

Food and beverages

281.277-284.9748.31.3-

Food

283.365-285.9897.90.9-

Food at home

270.561271.263273.8647.61.21.0

Cereals and bakery products

338.211-357.04110.55.6-

Meats, poultry, fish and eggs

283.408-291.6783.32.9-

Dairy and related products

211.891-214.7219.91.3-

Fruits and vegetables

273.915-263.583-2.7-3.8-

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

255.651-266.34513.04.2-

Other food at home

255.216-254.92114.0-0.1-

Food away from home

303.205-304.3498.30.4-

Alcoholic beverages

249.856-267.76414.57.2-

Housing

265.056-271.5917.72.5-

Shelter

302.315308.016312.9598.93.51.6

Rent of primary residence(2)

317.087320.083322.4607.11.70.7

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

299.068304.708306.9627.32.60.7

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

299.068304.708306.9627.32.60.7

Fuels and utilities

308.726-308.0373.5-0.2-

Household energy

245.013247.043244.3403.4-0.3-1.1

Energy services(2)

246.368248.791245.9523.6-0.2-1.1

Electricity(2)

264.320278.052277.9276.75.10.0

Utility (piped) gas service(2)

209.114199.732194.321-1.2-7.1-2.7

Household furnishings and operations

145.849-143.2844.0-1.8-

Apparel

114.242-110.4353.4-3.3-

Transportation

302.411-319.5597.95.7-

Private transportation

308.506-326.1347.65.7-

New and used motor vehicles(4)

140.681-148.40911.85.5-

New vehicles(1)

253.016-253.3347.00.1-

Used cars and trucks(1)

382.239-404.541-5.95.8-

Motor fuel

300.873308.816316.999-11.05.42.6

Gasoline (all types)

297.960306.419314.735-10.95.62.7

Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)

299.009307.802316.257-11.45.82.7

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)

362.223370.735380.455-8.45.02.6

Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)

318.105323.781331.431-5.04.22.4

Medical care

------

Recreation(4)

123.424-123.8722.70.4-

Education and communication(4)

156.238-156.1702.20.0-

Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)

1,444.031-1,450.1084.40.4-

Other goods and services

501.437-520.8126.13.9-

Commodity and service group

All items

276.741-282.4866.62.1-

Commodities

211.359-212.9522.70.8-

Commodities less food and beverages

176.267-176.853-0.60.3-

Nondurables less food and beverages

207.220-208.446-1.90.6-

Durables

136.322-136.3440.90.0-

Services

342.928-353.0519.13.0-

Special aggregate indexes

All items less medical care

267.889-274.0246.62.3-

All items less shelter

270.327-274.2205.61.4-

Commodities less food

179.044-180.1850.00.6-

Nondurables

243.460-245.9163.41.0-

Nondurables less food

209.840-212.163-0.81.1-

Services less rent of shelter(3)

402.223-411.6149.12.3-

Services less medical care services

332.364-343.5639.53.4-

Energy

274.134278.639280.329-4.62.30.6

All items less energy

280.890-286.6687.62.1-

All items less food and energy

281.316-287.7647.62.3-

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: Wednesday, May 10, 2023