The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn area decreased 2.7 percent from February to April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the energy index fell 17.1 percent and the index for food decreased 1.2 percent over the bi-monthly period. The all items less food and energy index fell 1.9 percent. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were lower for motor vehicle insurance, shelter, 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 decreased 0.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent and the food index was up 1.3 percent from April 2019 to April 2020. The energy index fell 21.3 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices were down 1.2 percent from February to April. Of the two components within the food index, prices for food at home (groceries) increased 3.3 percent and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) fell 6.4 percent over the bi-monthly period.

Over the year, food prices in the Detroit area were up 1.3 percent. Prices for groceries increased 5.3 percent and prices for food away from home decreased 3.6 percent.

Energy

The energy index for Detroit was down 17.1 percent from February to April. Among the index’s components, prices were lower for gasoline (-35.4 percent) and utility (piped) gas service (-5.2 percent), while electricity costs increased 0.3 percent over the bi-monthly period.

From April 2019 to April 2020, overall energy prices decreased 21.3 percent. Gasoline prices and utility (piped) gas service costs fell 45.6 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively. The electricity index increased 12.1 percent over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy decreased 1.9 percent from February to April. Among the index’s components, prices were lower for motor vehicle insurance (-13.8 percent), shelter (-1.4 percent), and apparel (-9.1 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 0.6 percent. Prices were higher for medical care (+5.5 percent), shelter (+1.3 percent), and new and used motor vehicles (2.7 percent), but lower for apparel (-8.6 percent) and motor vehicle insurance (-6.1 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
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 June 2020 Consumer Price Index for Detroit is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, July 14, 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 Genesee, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, 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.