The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Midwest inched up 0.1 percent after recording no change in each of the prior two months, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Higher prices for apparel (5.0 percent) had the largest upward impact on the monthly index. Lower prices for new and used motor vehicles (-2.1 percent) provided the largest offsetting effect. Food prices were up 0.3 percent for the month and energy prices were unchanged. The index for all items less food and energy was little changed, up 0.1 percent, in September. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The CPI-U for the Midwest advanced 1.9 percent from September 2017 to September 2018. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index, which includes motor fuel and household fuels, rose 5.9 percent and food prices increased 0.8 percent. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U was up 1.7 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices in the Midwest were 0.3 percent higher in September after registering a 0.3 percent decline in the prior month. Prices for food away from home were up 0.3 percent and prices for food at home rose 0.2 percent.

From September 2017 to September 2018, the index for food rose 0.8 percent. Prices for food away from home were up 2.2 percent and were responsible for the increase. Prices for food at home were 0.2 percent lower over the year. 

Energy

The energy index was unchanged in September after registering little change (-0.1 percent) in August and declining 0.7 percent in July. Lower prices for electricity (-1.1 percent) were offset by other components of the index in September; prices for electricity rose 0.3 percent in the prior month. Utility piped gas service costs were up 0.3 percent following a 1.6-percent increase in August. Gasoline prices turned up 0.5 percent in September after declining 0.7 percent in the prior month.

Energy costs advanced 5.9 percent from September 2017 to September 2018 due largely to an increase of 13.6 percent in prices for gasoline. Costs for electricity and utility (piped) gas service were lower than in September 2017, decreasing 2.8 and 1.8 percent, respectively, over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy for the Midwest was little changed (0.1 percent) after remaining unchanged for three consecutive months. Among the expenditure categories registering higher costs were apparel (5.0 percent) and shelter (0.2 percent), while prices for new and used motor vehicles (-2.1 percent) were among those that declined over the month.  

The index for all items less food and energy was up 1.7 percent from September 2017 to September 2018. Higher costs for shelter (3.1 percent) led the over-the-year increase.

The Midwest Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) stood at 235.524 in September 2018. A typical market basket of goods and services that cost $100.00 in the 1982-84 base period cost $235.52 in September 2018.

CPI-W

In September, the Midwest Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) was 229.998. The CPI-W inched up 0.1 percent in September and rose 2.2 percent over the year.

Table A. Midwest region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2014		2015		2016		2017		2018
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.5	1.4	-0.6	-0.3	0.3	0.8	0.7	2.2	0.6	1.6
February	0.6	0.9	0.3	-0.5	0.0	0.4	0.2	2.4	0.2	1.7
March	0.9	1.5	0.6	-0.9	0.6	0.5	0.1	1.9	0.2	1.8
April	0.3	1.9	0.1	-1.1	0.4	0.8	0.4	1.8	0.4	1.8
May	0.2	1.6	0.4	-0.8	0.4	0.8	0.0	1.4	0.5	2.3
June	0.5	1.7	0.5	-0.7	0.6	0.8	0.0	0.9	0.2	2.5
July	-0.3	1.8	0.0	-0.5	-0.5	0.4	0.0	1.3	0.0	2.4
August	-0.2	1.6	0.0	-0.3	0.1	0.6	0.3	1.5	0.0	2.1
September	0.1	1.6	-0.3	-0.8	0.2	1.1	0.3	1.5	0.1	1.9
October	-0.5	1.6	-0.1	-0.3	-0.1	1.0	-0.2	1.5
November	-0.6	1.2	-0.5	-0.2	-0.3	1.2	0.2	1.9
December	-0.7	0.7	-0.6	0.0	0.1	1.8	-0.2	1.7

The October 2018 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest region is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 14, 2018.

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 approximately 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 Midwest region is comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

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