March 1994 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes

Historical release narrative reproduced from the official public-domain source. Statistical tables, standard technical appendices, administrative material and attendance rosters are omitted; formatting is adapted for reading. Figures retain the release's historical context and may have been revised. Consult the linked source for the complete document.

-MARCH 1994-

The U.S. Import Price Index was unchanged in March as price decreases for petroleum imports were offset by price increases among nonpetroleum items, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. In March, the U.S. Export Price Index edged up 0.2 percent.

Import Goods

The moderation in import prices in March followed increases of 0.1 percent in January and 0.3 percent in February. For the 12 months ended in March, however, import prices were down 0.9 percent, on average.

Petroleum prices resumed a nearly year-long slide in March, declining 3.3 percent after rising 5.5 percent in February. During the past year, the index for imported petroleum prices has fallen 24.0 percent. In contrast, the index for nonpetroleum import prices rose 0.3 percent in March after being unchanged in February. For the year ended in March, nonpetroleum prices increased 2.0 percent on average.

The March increase in prices of nonpetroleum imports was highlighted by a turnaround in the index for industrial supplies and materials excluding petroleum--which rose 0.8 percent after slipping 0.1 percent in February--as well as a 0.9 percent advance in the index for foods, feeds, and beverages, which had declined 0.7 percent during the previous month. In addition, prices for capital goods and for automotive vehicles both rose 0.2 percent in March, after dipping by the same amount in the preceding month. In contrast, the index for consumer goods, excluding automotives, was unchanged in March after increasing 0.2 percent in February.

Export Goods

The increase in the index for export prices during March followed no change in the previous month and was led by a resumption of the recent upward trend in the index for agricultural exports--which edged up 0.7 percent in March after dropping 1.4 percent in February. In each of the 3 preceding months, agricultural prices had advanced more than 2.0 percent. The 0.1 percent March increase in prices of nonagricultural exports followed slightly larger increases in the 2 preceding months. During the year ended in March, export prices rose 1.7 percent, which was attributable primarily to the 10.5 percent rise in prices for agricultural exports.

Serving to dampen export prices in March was the continued moderating influence of the index for prices of capital goods (the largest component of U.S. exports), which edged down 0.1 percent for the fourth month in a row. In addition, prices for exported consumer goods, excluding automotives, dropped 0.3 percent in March after moving higher during the 2 preceding months. In contrast, the index for automotive prices, which was unchanged in February, rose 0.3 percent in March, while the index for nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials edged up 0.2 percent, a somewhat smaller increase than in the 2 preceding months.

Imports by Country or Region of Origin

After 3 months of comparatively little movement, prices of goods imported from Japan rose 0.6 percent in March, marking the largest 1-month advance in this index since September. For the year ended in March, prices of Japanese imports were up 6.7 percent. Smaller price increases were posted in March for imports from the European Community, up 0.3 percent, and Canada, up 0.2 percent. Overall, however, both of these series registered decreases during the 12-month period ended in March.

In contrast, prices for goods from the Asian Newly Industrialized Countries fell 0.2 percent in March after edging down 0.3 percent in February. During the year ended in March, this index declined 0.9 percent.

International Services

Air Transportation

The U.S. Carrier and Foreign Carrier Air Passenger Fares Indexes posted slight increases of 1.5 percent and 0.8 percent during the first quarter of 1994. These gains were primarily attributable to modest increases in the Pacific and Latin American/Caribbean regions.

Ocean Transportation

The Inbound Crude Tanker Index continued to fall this quarter, down 3.9 percent. This decline was primarily associated with an 11.2 percent drop in the index for the Atlantic region, while prices in the Gulf region edged down 0.9 percent.

After four consecutive quarterly declines, the Inbound Ocean Liner Freight Index rebounded with a 1.3 percent increase during the first quarter of 1994. The U.S. East Coast Region and the U.S. West Coast Region contributed to this turnaround, advancing 2.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.