Prices in the West 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 influenced by higher prices for gasoline. (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 2.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Food prices advanced 4.2 percent. Energy prices jumped 10.7 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.5 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices inched up 0.1 percent for the month of March. (See table 1.) Prices for food away from home edged up 0.2 percent. Prices for food at home were unchanged for the same period, influenced by higher prices for cereals and bakery products (1.6 percent) and lower prices for nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (-1.4 percent).

Over the year, food prices advanced 4.2 percent. Prices for food away from home rose 4.8 percent.  Prices for food at home advanced 3.8 percent since a year ago, led by higher prices for meat, poultry, fish, and eggs (8.3 percent).

Energy

The energy index rose 7.4 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (12.6 percent). Prices for electricity increased 1.1 percent, and prices for natural gas service advanced 0.7 percent for the same period.

Energy prices jumped 10.7 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (13.9 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service advanced 8.5 percent, and prices for electricity increased 6.3 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.3 percent in March. Higher prices for used cars and trucks (2.4 percent), recreation (1.1 percent), and shelter (0.2 percent) were partially offset by lower prices for education and communication (-0.8 percent), new vehicles (-0.4 percent), and other goods and services (-0.1 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy rose 1.5 percent. Components contributing to the increase included used cars and trucks (9.9 percent), household furnishings and operations (3.6 percent), and shelter (1.4 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in motor vehicle insurance (-1.4 percent) and apparel (-1.3 percent).

Table A. West 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	0.5	2.5	0.5	3.1	0.2	2.7	0.3	2.9	0.2	1.4
February	0.6	3.0	0.5	3.1	0.2	2.4	0.4	3.1	0.5	1.6
March	0.3	3.1	0.4	3.2	0.4	2.4	-0.2	2.5	0.7	2.4
April	0.3	2.9	0.4	3.2	0.8	2.9	-0.4	1.3
May	0.2	2.6	0.5	3.5	0.5	2.9	0.1	0.8
June	0.0	2.5	0.2	3.6	0.0	2.7	0.4	1.2
July	0.1	2.5	0.1	3.6	0.0	2.7	0.5	1.7
August	0.2	2.7	0.2	3.6	0.1	2.6	0.3	1.9
September	0.5	2.9	0.3	3.4	0.3	2.6	0.0	1.6
October	0.3	2.9	0.4	3.5	0.5	2.8	0.2	1.2
November	0.0	3.1	-0.2	3.3	-0.1	2.8	0.0	1.4
December	0.1	3.1	-0.2	3.1	-0.2	2.8	-0.1	1.5

The April 2021 Consumer Price Index for the West Region is scheduled to be released on May 12, 2021.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures 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 West Region covered in this release is comprised of the following thirteen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

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

West (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Jan. 2021	Feb. 2021	Mar. 2021	Mar. 2020	Jan. 2021	Feb. 2021
Expenditure category
All Items	277.238	278.702	280.625	2.4	1.2	0.7
All items (December 1977=100)	448.139	450.506	453.614
Food and beverages	281.122	282.161	282.539	4.1	0.5	0.1
Food	281.443	282.643	282.984	4.2	0.5	0.1
Food at home	263.024	263.956	264.033	3.8	0.4	0.0
Cereals and bakery products	265.321	265.829	270.165	1.9	1.8	1.6
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	281.551	283.155	285.621	8.3	1.4	0.9
Dairy and related products	249.225	246.346	243.666	0.9	-2.2	-1.1
Fruits and vegetables	346.758	345.409	342.914	1.5	-1.1	-0.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	189.380	190.533	187.960	4.8	-0.7	-1.4
Other food at home	218.670	221.463	221.830	3.2	1.4	0.2
Food away from home	305.392	306.955	307.658	4.8	0.7	0.2
Alcoholic beverages	273.440	272.459	273.293	2.8	-0.1	0.3
Housing	309.310	310.182	311.022	2.0	0.6	0.3
Shelter	357.040	357.670	358.434	1.4	0.4	0.2
Rent of primary residence(1)	381.621	382.538	383.015	1.5	0.4	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	376.862	377.607	378.007	1.6	0.3	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	376.828	377.574	377.971	1.6	0.3	0.1
Fuels and utilities	320.809	325.202	327.513	5.8	2.1	0.7
Household energy	269.583	274.344	277.188	6.9	2.8	1.0
Energy services(1)	271.372	276.192	279.092	6.8	2.8	1.0
Electricity(1)	302.211	309.398	312.934	6.3	3.5	1.1
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	214.943	214.093	215.606	8.5	0.3	0.7
Household furnishings and operations	138.132	138.389	138.858	3.6	0.5	0.3
Apparel	111.966	113.304	114.734	-1.3	2.5	1.3
Transportation	213.427	216.515	223.648	4.6	4.8	3.3
Private transportation	211.674	215.294	222.390	5.6	5.1	3.3
New and used motor vehicles(3)	103.808	104.034	104.453	4.2	0.6	0.4
New vehicles	151.328	151.487	150.926	1.2	-0.3	-0.4
New cars and trucks(3)(4)	105.131	105.229	104.850	1.3	-0.3	-0.4
New cars(4)		150.286	148.892	0.6		-0.9
Used cars and trucks	144.269	145.121	148.563	9.9	3.0	2.4
Motor fuel	232.603	244.582	275.493	13.6	18.4	12.6
Gasoline (all types)	231.807	243.806	274.640	13.9	18.5	12.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	228.073	240.237	271.134	14.0	18.9	12.9
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	225.173	235.437	262.995	12.0	16.8	11.7
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	232.297	242.779	271.228	13.3	16.8	11.7
Motor vehicle insurance(6)	810.395	833.674	837.972	-1.4	3.4	0.5
Medical Care	539.245	539.796	541.390	0.9	0.4	0.3
Medical care commodities	419.214	409.235	410.237	-4.3	-2.1	0.2
Medical care services	576.341	580.214	581.993	2.1	1.0	0.3
Professional services	367.490	374.088	375.957	3.5	2.3	0.5
Recreation(3)	114.324	115.448	116.717	0.6	2.1	1.1
Education and communication(3)	140.694	141.118	139.985	1.3	-0.5	-0.8
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(6)	1,503.207	1,506.289	1,506.734	0.6	0.2	0.0
Other goods and services	469.789	473.042	472.339	2.7	0.5	-0.1
Commodity and Service Group
All Items	277.238	278.702	280.625	2.4	1.2	0.7
Commodities	191.414	192.894	195.466	3.9	2.1	1.3
Commodities less food & beverages	148.131	149.705	152.981	3.8	3.3	2.2
Nondurables less food & beverages	189.441	192.047	199.814	3.5	5.5	4.0
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	243.907	247.400	259.550	5.1	6.4	4.9
Durables	109.262	110.063	110.303	4.1	1.0	0.2
Services	357.050	358.426	359.550	1.5	0.7	0.3
Rent of shelter(2)	380.246	380.966	381.786	1.4	0.4	0.2
Transportation services	306.105	307.975	310.120	-1.3	1.3	0.7
Other services	364.854	366.539	368.095	1.1	0.9	0.4
Special aggregate indexes:
All items less medical care	265.309	266.806	268.736	2.6	1.3	0.7
All items less food	276.694	278.202	280.385	2.1	1.3	0.8
All items less shelter	245.928	247.717	250.091	3.0	1.7	1.0
Commodities less food	152.674	154.189	157.422	3.7	3.1	2.1
Nondurables	235.212	237.069	241.273	3.9	2.6	1.8
Nondurables less food	195.618	197.997	205.335	3.5	5.0	3.7
Nondurables less food and apparel	246.701	249.717	260.654	4.8	5.7	4.4
Services less rent of shelter(2)	367.521	369.885	371.518	1.7	1.1	0.4
Services less medical care services	341.769	342.976	344.054	1.5	0.7	0.3
Energy	252.230	261.331	280.792	10.7	11.3	7.4
All items less energy	281.271	282.229	282.978	1.9	0.6	0.3
All items less food and energy	282.032	282.949	283.772	1.5	0.6	0.3
Commodities less food and energy commodities	143.491	143.952	144.411	2.0	0.6	0.3
Energy commodities	237.605	249.676	280.696	13.6	18.1	12.4
Services less energy services	363.379	364.566	365.594	1.3	0.6	0.3
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.
- Data not available Regions defined as the four Census regions. West includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.