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 December 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that food prices decreased 0.4 percent, and the energy index declined 1.8 percent from October to December. The all items less food and energy index fell 0.2 percent over the past two months due to declines in the indexes for apparel, household furnishings and operations, and medical care. (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 0.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 1.3 percent over the year. Food prices were up 0.2 percent. Energy prices declined 6.0 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices declined 0.4 percent for the two months ending in December. Prices for food at home (groceries) fell 1.5 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) increased 0.9 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices increased 0.2 percent. Prices for food at home rose 1.8 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home decreased 1.7 percent.

Energy

The energy index decreased 1.8 percent for the two months ending in December. The decrease was mainly due to lower electricity prices (-4.4 percent). Gasoline prices fell 0.2 percent, and prices for utility (piped) gas service declined 0.5 percent for the same period.

Energy prices fell 6.0 percent over the year, largely due to lower gasoline prices (-19.5 percent). Prices paid for utility (piped) gas service advanced 8.9 percent, and prices for electricity rose 5.0 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy was down 0.2 percent in the latest two-month period. Lower prices for apparel (-5.9 percent), household furnishings and operations (-2.5 percent), and medical care (-0.7 percent) were partially offset by higher prices for shelter (0.9 percent) and recreation (1.9 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.3 percent. Components contributing to the increase included motor vehicle insurance (4.5 percent), education and communication (2.4 percent), and medical care (1.5 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were lower prices for apparel (-5.4 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	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	-0.3	0.7

The February 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 10, 2021.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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.