Prices in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), fell 0.4 percent for the two months ending in November 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that a 0.5-percent decrease in the index for all items less food and energy was the biggest factor in the two-month decline, though lower energy prices (-1.4 percent) also contributed. In contrast, food costs rose 0.4 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 1.8 percent, while the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.) During the 12-month period, food prices increased 3.0 percent and energy costs rose 2.5 percent.

Food

Food prices rose 0.4 percent for the two months ending in November, after rising 0.3 percent in August and September. The latest increase was the primarily a result of a 0.7-percent increase in the food at home index (grocery store prices), though prices for food away from home edged up 0.1 percent during the period.

During the 12 months ending in November 2019, food prices advanced 3.0 percent, the fastest annual rate of increase since March 2012. Unlike the bi-monthly change, the annual increase was mainly due to higher prices for food away from home, up 4.6 percent, as prices for food at home rose at a slower 1.5-percent pace.

Energy

The energy index fell 1.4 percent for the two months ending in November, after falling 3.8 percent in August and September. The latest decrease was primarily the result of lower prices for gasoline (-2.5 percent), though electricity costs also fell (-0.5 percent). In contrast, prices for natural gas service rose 2.0 percent during the period.

Over the year, the energy index advanced 2.5 percent, the first annual increase since April 2019. All sub-components contributed to the latest rise, but higher prices for electricity, up 4.7 percent, were the biggest factor. Prices for natural gas service increased 4.3 percent and prices for gasoline were up 1.1 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy fell 0.5 percent in October and November, the largest bimonthly decline since June and July 2010. In the latest two-month period, lower prices for recreation (-3.9 percent), new and used motor vehicles (-3.0 percent), apparel (-1.4 percent), and education and communication (-0.8 percent) were among the biggest factors in the decrease. Costs for lodging away from home (hotel and motels) also declined, offsetting increases in both rent of a primary residence and owners’ equivalent rent, leaving shelter costs unchanged. Only two major categories registered increases during the period, medical care (0.5 percent) and other goods and services (0.6 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.6 percent. Leading factors in the price increase included shelter (3.7 percent) and medical care (4.7 percent). Partly offsetting these gains were price declines for new and used motor vehicles (-2.9 percent), recreation (-1.6 percent) and education and communication (-0.6 percent).

The January 2020 Consumer Price Index for All Items for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is scheduled to be released Thursday, February 13, 2020.

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 -
	Sep. 2019	Oct. 2019	Nov. 2019	Nov. 2018	Sep. 2019	Oct. 2019
All items	239.815	-	238.768	1.8	-0.4	-
All items (1967 = 100)	752.286	-	749.002
Food and beverages	258.853	-	260.308	3.1	0.6	-
Food	253.076	-	254.165	3.0	0.4	-
Food at home	211.293	214.452	212.821	1.5	0.7	-0.8
Cereals and bakery products	261.319	-	259.458	1.9	-0.7	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	236.037	-	232.372	-2.6	-1.6	-
Dairy and related products	195.182	-	199.671	7.1	2.3	-
Fruits and vegetables	193.832	-	193.527	-1.2	-0.2	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	183.320	-	187.931	4.6	2.5	-
Other food at home	199.347	-	204.286	3.1	2.5	-
Food away from home	315.868	-	316.334	4.6	0.1	-
Alcoholic beverages	331.074	-	342.456	3.8	3.4	-
Housing	233.628	-	233.371	2.0	-0.1	-
Shelter	261.558	261.164	261.578	3.7	0.0	0.2
Rent of primary residence	278.451	277.890	278.661	3.3	0.1	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	281.172	282.176	282.597	4.3	0.5	0.1
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	281.172	282.176	282.597	4.3	0.5	0.1
Fuels and utilities	246.139	-	246.367	-2.2	0.1	-
Household energy	219.096	220.700	218.812	4.6	-0.1	-0.9
Energy services	215.459	217.067	215.206	4.7	-0.1	-0.9
Electricity	206.764	206.764	205.831	4.7	-0.5	-0.5
Utility (piped) gas service	199.763	210.663	203.735	4.3	2.0	-3.3
Household furnishings and operations	120.090	-	118.587	-4.9	-1.3	-
Apparel	115.963	-	114.340	3.8	-1.4	-
Transportation	207.870	-	205.345	0.1	-1.2	-
Private transportation	211.226	-	207.149	-0.6	-1.9	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	107.579	-	104.335	-2.9	-3.0	-
New vehicles(1)	205.573	-	196.181	-2.8	-4.6	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	324.161	-	320.620	-0.5	-1.1	-
Motor fuel	225.025	216.042	219.505	0.9	-2.5	1.6
Gasoline (all types)	223.697	214.486	218.084	1.1	-2.5	1.7
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	214.451	205.477	208.861	1.0	-2.6	1.6
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	240.897	230.796	236.472	2.1	-1.8	2.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	245.384	236.833	240.990	2.1	-1.8	1.8
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	766.339	-	762.402	-5.2	-0.5	-
Medical care	456.962	-	459.300	4.7	0.5	-
Recreation(3)	125.970	-	121.064	-1.6	-3.9	-
Education and communication(3)	132.385	-	131.331	-0.6	-0.8	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,287.011	-	1,286.296	1.8	-0.1	-
Other goods and services	422.514	-	425.207	4.5	0.6	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	177.820	-	175.790	1.5	-1.1	-
Commodities less food and beverages	141.508	-	138.592	0.6	-2.1	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	178.063	-	175.811	2.6	-1.3	-
Durables	110.529	-	107.168	-1.7	-3.0	-
Services	300.246	-	300.132	2.0	0.0	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	230.311	-	228.758	0.9	-0.7	-
All items less medical care	229.278	-	228.078	1.6	-0.5	-
Commodities less food	146.435	-	143.603	0.7	-1.9	-
Nondurables	215.093	-	214.317	2.8	-0.4	-
Nondurables less food	185.414	-	183.427	2.6	-1.1	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	352.370	-	352.047	0.1	-0.1	-
Services less medical care services	283.851	-	283.516	1.6	-0.1	-
Energy	223.482	219.300	220.331	2.5	-1.4	0.5
All items less energy	245.477	-	244.604	1.8	-0.4	-
All items less food and energy	243.987	-	242.830	1.6	-0.5	-
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.