
An official website of the United States government
18-163-DAL
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington was little changed in December and January, edging down 0.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that a 1.0-percent decrease in energy costs was the biggest factor during the two-month period as food prices and the index for all items less food and energy were little changed. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)
During the year ended in January 2018, the all items CPI-U rose 2.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.1 percent during the latest 12-month period. Both annual rates slipped from the 12-month changes registered in November 2017.
FoodFood prices edged up 0.1 percent in December and January, after falling 1.0 percent in October and November. During the latest period, prices for food away from home increased 0.8 percent, while prices for food at home fell 0.5 percent.
From January 2017 to January 2018, total food prices rose 0.4 percent. This movement reflected the combined effects of a 2.7-percent increase in prices for food away from home and a 1.8-percent decrease in prices for food at home.
EnergyThe energy index fell 1.0 percent in December and January, following a 4.6-percent decrease in October and November. Prices fell for all three of the major components within the energy index, but the largest contributor was a 1.4-percent decline in motor fuel prices. The cost of natural gas fell 1.9 percent and electricity prices were down 0.9 percent.
During the year ended in January 2018, the energy index rose 2.2 percent. Higher prices for motor fuel, up 4.7 percent, were the largest contributor to the energy index rise. In contrast, natural gas prices fell 1.6 percent and electricity costs were down 0.8 percent during the previous 12 months.
All items less food and energyThe index for all items less food and energy was little changed, slipping 0.1 percent in December and January; this followed a 0.8-percent increase in October and November. Categories registering price decreases included recreation (-1.5 percent), apparel (-2.0 percent), and education and communication (-0.8 percent). These declines were nearly offset by higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (1.8 percent) and shelter (0.2 percent).
From January 2017 to January 2018, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.1 percent. Higher shelter costs, up 5.9 percent, were responsible for the largest share of the annual increase. The shelter advance reflected a 6.4-percent increase in both owners’ equivalent rent and renters’ costs. Partially countering these increases, prices for education and communication declined 4.8 percent over the year. Though medical care prices rose at a relatively low rate of 1.5 percent during the 12 months ended in January 2018, this marked the first annual increase in this category since May 2017.
The March 2018 Consumer Price Index for All Items for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is scheduled to be released Wednesday, April 11, 2018.
In January 2018, BLS introduced a new geographic area sample for the Consumer Price Index (CPI). As part of the new sample, the index for this area was renamed. The indexes using the new structure are published for the first time this month. Additional information on the geographic revision is available at www.bls.gov/cpi/additional-resources/geographic-revision-2018.htm.
The Consumer Price Index for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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 94 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 28 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas, Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise Counties.
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.
Item and Group | Indexes | Percent change from - | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov. 2017 | Dec. 2017 | Jan. 2018 | Jan. 2017 | Nov. 2017 | Dec. 2017 | |
All items | 229.352 | - | 229.132 | 2.7 | -0.1 | - |
All items (1967 = 100) | 719.463 | - | 718.773 | |||
Food and beverages | 252.167 | - | 252.753 | 0.6 | 0.2 | - |
Food | 246.343 | - | 246.691 | 0.4 | 0.1 | - |
Food at home | 214.180 | 213.498 | 213.150 | -1.8 | -0.5 | -0.2 |
Cereals and bakery products | 256.208 | - | 254.351 | - | -0.7 | - |
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs | 241.335 | - | 242.470 | - | 0.5 | - |
Dairy and related products | 203.408 | - | 196.465 | - | -3.4 | - |
Fruits and vegetables | 200.701 | - | 200.879 | - | 0.1 | - |
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1) | 187.445 | - | 183.590 | - | -2.1 | - |
Other food at home | 198.871 | - | 198.712 | - | -0.1 | - |
Food away from home | 295.192 | - | 297.506 | 2.7 | 0.8 | - |
Alcoholic beverages | 328.606 | - | 335.313 | 3.0 | 2.0 | - |
Housing | 219.947 | - | 220.283 | 5.0 | 0.2 | - |
Shelter | 243.824 | 244.686 | 244.428 | 5.9 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
Rent of primary residence(2) | 258.881 | 260.126 | 260.571 | 6.4 | 0.7 | 0.2 |
262.342 | 263.102 | 263.016 | 6.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | |
262.342 | 263.102 | 263.016 | 6.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | |
Fuels and utilities | 228.404 | - | 227.096 | 1.9 | -0.6 | - |
Household energy | 203.859 | 203.240 | 201.925 | -0.7 | -0.9 | -0.6 |
Energy services(2) | 200.439 | 199.785 | 198.374 | -0.9 | -1.0 | -0.7 |
Electricity(2) | 184.676 | 183.064 | 182.932 | -0.8 | -0.9 | -0.1 |
Utility (piped) gas service(2) | 233.603 | 238.019 | 229.267 | -1.6 | -1.9 | -3.7 |
Household furnishings and operations | 123.573 | - | 123.827 | 1.2 | 0.2 | - |
Apparel | 112.004 | - | 109.788 | 4.1 | -2.0 | - |
Transportation | 204.502 | - | 204.554 | 2.2 | 0.0 | - |
Private transportation | 206.969 | - | 208.607 | 3.6 | 0.8 | - |
New and used motor vehicles(4) | 104.896 | - | 106.787 | - | 1.8 | - |
New vehicles(1) | 203.467 | - | 206.170 | - | 1.3 | - |
Used cars and trucks(1) | 316.135 | - | 319.433 | - | 1.0 | - |
Motor fuel | 219.686 | 210.361 | 216.559 | 4.7 | -1.4 | 2.9 |
Gasoline (all types) | 218.351 | 208.861 | 215.067 | 4.5 | -1.5 | 3.0 |
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5) | 209.550 | 200.190 | 206.333 | 4.3 | -1.5 | 3.1 |
233.799 | 224.123 | 229.309 | 4.8 | -1.9 | 2.3 | |
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5) | 237.537 | 229.722 | 234.897 | 6.1 | -1.1 | 2.3 |
Motor vehicle insurance(1) | 813.334 | - | 823.655 | - | 1.3 | - |
Medical care | 432.142 | - | 431.091 | 1.5 | -0.2 | - |
Recreation(4) | 114.664 | - | 112.932 | 3.0 | -1.5 | - |
Education and communication(4) | 135.373 | - | 134.259 | -4.8 | -0.8 | - |
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1) | 1,239.862 | - | 1,239.830 | - | 0.0 | - |
Other goods and services | 394.361 | - | 396.871 | 2.4 | 0.6 | - |
Commodity and service group | ||||||
Commodities | 173.353 | - | 173.684 | 1.4 | 0.2 | - |
Commodities less food and beverages | 138.030 | - | 138.241 | 1.9 | 0.2 | - |
Nondurables less food and beverages | 172.752 | - | 172.004 | 3.1 | -0.4 | - |
Durables | 108.542 | - | 109.462 | 0.5 | 0.8 | - |
Services | 284.005 | - | 283.258 | 3.5 | -0.3 | - |
Special aggregate indexes | ||||||
All items less shelter | 223.251 | - | 222.633 | 1.1 | -0.3 | - |
All items less medical care | 219.500 | - | 219.319 | 2.8 | -0.1 | - |
Commodities less food | 142.872 | - | 143.176 | 1.9 | 0.2 | - |
Nondurables | 209.040 | - | 208.888 | 1.8 | -0.1 | - |
Nondurables less food | 179.955 | - | 179.462 | 3.1 | -0.3 | - |
Services less rent of shelter(3) | 339.191 | - | 336.295 | 0.7 | -0.9 | - |
Services less medical care services | 269.031 | - | 268.229 | 3.8 | -0.3 | - |
Energy | 213.065 | 208.196 | 210.986 | 2.2 | -1.0 | 1.3 |
All items less energy | 234.845 | - | 234.774 | 2.8 | 0.0 | - |
All items less food and energy | 232.802 | - | 232.672 | 3.1 | -0.1 | - |
Footnotes | ||||||
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. |
Last Modified Date: Wednesday, February 14, 2018