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.

Food

Food 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.

Energy

The 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 energy

The 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.

Technical Note

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.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods,
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

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
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)(3)	262.342	263.102	263.016	6.4	0.3	0.0
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)(3)	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
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	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 (1) Indexes on a February 1978=100 base. (2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (3) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (4) Indexes based on a December 1997=100 base. (5) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (6) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.