Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.7 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) The March increase was most influenced by higher prices for energy, but an advance in the index for all items less food and energy was another major contributor. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 3.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent over the year. Energy prices surged 17.5 percent, while food prices advanced 2.9 percent. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices inched up 0.2 percent for the month of March. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home increased 0.2 percent and prices for food away from home edged up 0.1 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices advanced 2.9 percent. Prices for food at home advanced 2.7 percent since a year ago and prices for food away from home rose 3.1 percent.

Energy

The energy index rose 5.6 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (10.0 percent). Prices for natural gas service advanced 2.7 percent and prices for electricity increased 0.9 percent for the same period.

Energy prices climbed 17.5 percent over the year, the fastest rate of annual increase since February 2017. The largest contributor to the latest advance was higher prices for gasoline (29.8 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service jumped 14.8 percent and prices for electricity increased 2.4 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.4 percent in March. Higher prices for shelter (0.4 percent) and used cars and trucks (2.5 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for new vehicles (-1.5 percent) and apparel (-0.3 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (1.8 percent) and used cars and trucks (9.9 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in apparel (-1.2 percent) and medical care commodities (-1.1 percent).

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

Month	2017		2018		2019		2020		2021
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.7	2.2	0.4	1.6	-0.2	0.8	0.4	2.5	0.5	1.2
February	0.8	2.4	0.9	1.7	0.9	1.3	0.3	2.1	0.8	1.7
March	0.2	1.9	0.4	1.8	1.3	1.7	-0.5	1.0	0.7	3.0
April	0.5	1.8	0.6	1.8	0.9	1.5	-1.1	-0.4
May	0.4	1.4	0.9	2.3	0.6	1.3	0.3	-0.4
June	0.0	0.9	0.7	2.5	0.3	1.2	0.8	0.4
July	0.1	1.3	0.1	2.4	0.2	1.5	0.5	0.7
August	0.3	1.5	-0.1	2.1	0.2	1.5	0.4	1.1
September	0.5	1.5	0.1	1.9	0.0	1.4	0.2	1.3
October	0.1	1.5	0.2	2.2	0.2	1.5	-0.1	1.0
November	0.0	1.9	-0.5	1.4	0.0	1.9	-0.2	1.0
December	0.0	1.7	-0.9	1.3	-0.2	2.3	0.1	1.1

The April 2021 Consumer Price Index for the Midwest Region is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 12, 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 Midwest region is comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

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, Midwest Region, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)

Expenditure category	Indexes			Percent change from
	Jan. 2021	Feb. 2021	Mar. 2021	Mar. 2020	Jan. 2021	Feb. 2021
All items	242.552	244.477	246.246	3.0	1.5	0.7
All items (December 1977 = 100)	394.646	397.778	400.657
Food and beverages	257.301	257.637	257.839	2.7	0.2	0.1
Food	256.795	257.124	257.522	2.9	0.3	0.2
Food at home	235.377	235.863	236.421	2.7	0.4	0.2
Cereals and bakery products	267.438	267.373	266.884	1.1	-0.2	-0.2
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	257.090	256.395	258.463	3.4	0.5	0.8
Dairy and related products	207.921	209.923	208.663	1.7	0.4	-0.6
Fruits and vegetables	276.447	275.627	277.436	4.2	0.4	0.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	171.316	172.824	172.645	2.7	0.8	-0.1
Other food at home	203.284	204.089	204.534	2.3	0.6	0.2
Food away from home	292.106	292.202	292.365	3.1	0.1	0.1
Alcoholic beverages	262.158	262.583	260.342	1.3	-0.7	-0.9
Housing	239.842	241.060	242.209	2.5	1.0	0.5
Shelter	288.325	289.397	290.464	1.8	0.7	0.4
Rent of primary residence(1)	291.192	291.968	292.777	2.5	0.5	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(1)(2)	295.569	296.561	297.566	2.3	0.7	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(1)(2)	295.500	296.488	297.487	2.3	0.7	0.3
Fuels and utilities	226.692	228.685	231.207	6.0	2.0	1.1
Household energy	181.173	183.021	185.415	6.9	2.3	1.3
Energy services(1)	187.310	188.415	191.221	6.2	2.1	1.5
Electricity(1)	200.108	200.245	201.986	2.4	0.9	0.9
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	154.708	157.272	161.579	14.8	4.4	2.7
Household furnishings and operations	118.128	119.297	119.950	3.5	1.5	0.5
Apparel	110.662	113.360	113.075	-1.2	2.2	-0.3
Transportation	197.506	202.003	208.068	6.9	5.3	3.0
Private transportation	196.023	200.386	206.586	7.9	5.4	3.1
New and used motor vehicles(3)	100.171	100.404	101.170	3.2	1.0	0.8
New vehicles	140.973	141.160	139.018	0.9	-1.4	-1.5
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	99.656	99.789	98.291	0.9	-1.4	-1.5
New cars(4)	139.985	139.773	137.104	0.7	-2.1	-1.9
Used cars and trucks	149.311	149.743	153.483	9.9	2.8	2.5
Motor fuel	206.097	223.779	246.035	29.3	19.4	9.9
Gasoline (all types)	204.864	222.543	244.693	29.8	19.4	10.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	198.913	216.461	238.331	30.6	19.8	10.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	242.235	261.041	284.381	26.0	17.4	8.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	230.203	245.420	266.566	21.5	15.8	8.6
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	713.866	730.531	742.993	-1.5	4.1	1.7
Medical care	523.287	525.867	525.593	2.3	0.4	-0.1
Medical care commodities	377.966	376.372	374.872	-1.8	-0.8	-0.4
Medical care services	571.651	575.568	575.682	3.2	0.7	0.0
Professional services	431.850	439.955	440.347	3.4	2.0	0.1
Recreation(3)	124.181	125.616	125.974	1.9	1.4	0.3
Education and communication(3)	140.919	141.211	141.141	1.6	0.2	0.0
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,219.653	1,219.762	1,220.956	1.9	0.1	0.1
Other goods and services	446.740	447.000	451.954	1.3	1.2	1.1
Commodity and service group
Commodities	181.384	183.356	185.171	4.4	2.1	1.0
Commodities less food and beverages	145.709	148.184	150.500	5.5	3.3	1.6
Nondurables less food and beverages	186.423	191.771	196.798	7.2	5.6	2.6
Durables	104.780	105.265	105.705	3.6	0.9	0.4
Services	305.728	307.558	309.237	2.0	1.1	0.5
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	228.606	230.823	232.834	3.4	1.8	0.9
All items less medical care	229.245	231.141	233.014	3.0	1.6	0.8
Commodities less food	149.265	151.695	153.899	5.3	3.1	1.5
Nondurables	220.970	223.955	226.707	4.7	2.6	1.2
Nondurables less food	190.578	195.601	200.157	6.7	5.0	2.3
Services less rent of shelter(2)	333.549	336.234	338.579	2.1	1.5	0.7
Services less medical care services	285.794	287.465	289.278	1.8	1.2	0.6
Energy	192.598	201.571	212.902	17.5	10.5	5.6
All items less energy	250.456	251.755	252.663	2.0	0.9	0.4
All items less food and energy	250.069	251.544	252.546	1.8	1.0	0.4
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (6) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.