Prices in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.4 percent for the two months ending in September 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that a 0.8-percent increase in the index for all items less food and energy was the biggest factor in the two-month rise, though higher prices for food also contributed. In contrast, energy costs fell 3.8 percent during the period. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the all items CPI-U advanced 2.2 percent, driven largely by a 2.9-percent increase in the index for all items less food and energy. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Food prices advanced 2.2 percent, but energy prices fell 4.5 percent over the year.

Food

Food prices rose 0.3 percent for the two months ending in September, after registering no change in June and July. The latest increase was the result of a 0.8-percent rise in prices for food away from home, as costs for food at home (grocery store prices) decreased 0.3 percent during the period.

During the 12 months ending in September 2019, food prices advanced 2.2 percent. As with the bi-monthly change, the annual increase was the result of higher prices for food away from home (5.1 percent), as prices for food at home declined (-0.6 percent).

Energy

The energy index fell 3.8 percent for the two months ending in September, after falling 0.8 percent in June and July. The latest decrease was entirely the result of lower prices for gasoline (-7.4 percent). Prices for natural gas service rose 6.0 percent and prices for electricity were virtually unchanged (0.1 percent) during the period.

The energy index fell 4.5 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-10.4 percent), though prices paid for natural gas service also declined (-2.3 percent). In contrast, prices for electricity advanced 4.9 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.8 percent in August and September, matching the June and July increase. In the latest two-month period, higher prices for apparel (5.6 percent), recreation (4.8 percent), and rent of primary residence (1.1 percent) were among the biggest factors in the increase. These gains were slowed by a 1.8-percent decline in prices for new and used motor vehicles.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.9 percent. Leading factors in the price increase included shelter (4.2 percent), medical care (4.2 percent), and recreation (5.4 percent). Partly offsetting these gains was a price decline in education and communication (-2.0 percent).

The November 2019 Consumer Price Index for All Items for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is scheduled to be released Wednesday, December 11, 2019.

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 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas, Core Based Statistical Area includes the counties of Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise.

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 -
	Jul. 2019	Aug. 2019	Sep. 2019	Sep. 2018	Jul. 2019	Aug. 2019
All items	238.891	-	239.815	2.2	0.4	-
All items (1967 = 100)	749.389	-	752.286
Food and beverages	258.538	-	258.853	2.1	0.1	-
Food	252.391	-	253.076	2.2	0.3	-
Food at home	211.830	211.559	211.293	-0.6	-0.3	-0.1
Cereals and bakery products	259.782	-	261.319	2.3	0.6	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	236.796	-	236.037	-4.0	-0.3	-
Dairy and related products	189.667	-	195.182	2.7	2.9	-
Fruits and vegetables	193.401	-	193.832	-4.7	0.2	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	184.898	-	183.320	1.2	-0.9	-
Other food at home	202.821	-	199.347	1.8	-1.7	-
Food away from home	313.411	-	315.868	5.1	0.8	-
Alcoholic beverages	341.438	-	331.074	-1.8	-3.0	-
Housing	231.993	-	233.628	3.8	0.7	-
Shelter	260.098	259.828	261.558	4.2	0.6	0.7
Rent of primary residence	275.319	276.563	278.451	3.4	1.1	0.7
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	279.916	279.954	281.172	4.5	0.4	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	279.916	279.954	281.172	4.5	0.4	0.4
Fuels and utilities	244.746	-	246.139	4.6	0.6	-
Household energy	217.260	218.156	219.096	3.7	0.8	0.4
Energy services	213.667	214.624	215.459	3.9	0.8	0.4
Electricity	206.634	206.635	206.764	4.9	0.1	0.1
Utility (piped) gas service	188.408	194.890	199.763	-2.3	6.0	2.5
Household furnishings and operations	117.747	-	120.090	0.1	2.0	-
Apparel	109.784	-	115.963	0.3	5.6	-
Transportation	213.689	-	207.870	-1.9	-2.7	-
Private transportation	217.458	-	211.226	-2.4	-2.9	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	109.512	-	107.579	0.3	-1.8	-
New vehicles(1)	205.751	-	205.573	0.4	-0.1	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	333.369	-	324.161	2.4	-2.8	-
Motor fuel	242.815	223.147	225.025	-10.4	-7.3	0.8
Gasoline (all types)	241.660	221.815	223.697	-10.4	-7.4	0.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	232.180	212.662	214.451	-10.7	-7.6	0.8
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	257.887	237.380	240.897	-9.2	-6.6	1.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	260.430	243.546	245.384	-8.0	-5.8	0.8
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	782.720	-	766.339	-3.6	-2.1	-
Medical care	453.839	-	456.962	4.2	0.7	-
Recreation(3)	120.154	-	125.970	5.4	4.8	-
Education and communication(3)	132.533	-	132.385	-2.0	-0.1	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,275.729	-	1,287.011	1.8	0.9	-
Other goods and services	417.921	-	422.514	3.4	1.1	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	178.318	-	177.820	0.4	-0.3	-
Commodities less food and beverages	142.212	-	141.508	-0.4	-0.5	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	179.171	-	178.063	-2.5	-0.6	-
Durables	110.908	-	110.529	2.3	-0.3	-
Services	297.962	-	300.246	3.3	0.8	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	229.638	-	230.311	1.2	0.3	-
All items less medical care	228.458	-	229.278	2.1	0.4	-
Commodities less food	147.252	-	146.435	-0.4	-0.6	-
Nondurables	215.640	-	215.093	-0.3	-0.3	-
Nondurables less food	186.759	-	185.414	-2.4	-0.7	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	348.870	-	352.370	2.2	1.0	-
Services less medical care services	281.819	-	283.851	3.0	0.7	-
Energy	232.378	222.024	223.482	-4.5	-3.8	0.7
All items less energy	243.642	-	245.477	2.8	0.8	-
All items less food and energy	241.988	-	243.987	2.9	0.8	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a February 1978=100 base. (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) Index on a December 1993=100.
- Data not available.