March 1996 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes

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-MARCH 1996-

The U.S. Import Price Index rose 0.5 percent in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The increase was attributable to higher petroleum prices and followed a 0.1 percent decrease in February. The U.S. Export Price Index, down 0.1 percent, fell for the second month in a row.

March 1995-96 1.6 10.9 0.6 1.4 18.4 -0.6 r = revised to reflect late reports and corrections by respondents.

Import Goods

The March increase in import prices was attributable to a 7.1 percent jump in the index for petroleum imports, the largest one- month advance in this category in nearly two years. For the year ended in March, import prices overall increased 1.6 percent compared with a 6.3 percent rise in the previous 12-month period.

Prior to the March advance, petroleum prices had edged down 1.1 percent in February after increasing 4.7 percent and 4.5 percent in January and December, respectively. Prices of imported petroleum have increased 10.9 percent during the past year.

In contrast, prices for nonpetroleum imports fell 0.4 percent in March, the second decrease in three months for this group. Over the past 12 months, however, prices for nonpetroleum imports have edged up 0.6 percent. The March decrease was widespread as all of the major subgroups moved lower. The index for imported capital goods slipped 0.6 percent following a 0.3 percent dip in February, while prices for imported foods, feeds, and beverages fell 1.2 percent after advancing 2.9 percent in February.

Prices for the three other major components--automotive vehicles, consumer goods, and industrial supplies and materials excluding petroleum--each fell a modest 0.1 percent in March. For the 12 months ended in March, however, price indexes for these three components were up between 1.3 and 2.0 percent.

Export Goods

The March decrease in export prices followed a 0.3 percent drop in February and reflected a continuing decline in prices for exported nonagricultural commodities. The index for nonagricultural exports was down 0.3 percent for the second consecutive month and 0.6 percent for the year ended in March. In contrast, the price index for agricultural exports resumed its recent upward trend in March, advancing 1.3 percent after a 0.2 percent dip in February. In the 12 months ended in March, prices for agricultural exports rose 18.4 percent. Overall, export prices were up just 1.4 percent during the past year.

Among nonagricultural exports, prices for nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials continued to fall, down 0.9 percent, the ninth decline in the past 10 months. In addition, the index for nonagricultural foods posted its sixth consecutive monthly decrease, falling 1.7 percent.

Export prices for the major components of finished goods continued to post little change. Prices for capital goods and automotive vehicles both edged down 0.1 percent, while the index for consumer goods rose 0.1 percent. During the past year, however, these three indexes have advanced between 1.2 and 1.4 percent.

Imports by Locality of Origin

Prices of goods imported from Japan fell for the fourth consecutive month in March. The 0.3 percent decline was the same as in February and similar to declines of 0.2 and 0.4 percent in January and December, respectively. For the 12 months ended in March, however, the index rose 1.5 percent. (See table 7.)

The price index for imports from the Asian Newly Industrialized Countries also fell 0.3 percent in March, resuming a recent downward trend. The index had edged up 0.1 percent in February. For the year ended in March the index was down 0.5 percent.

Prices of Canadian goods also were lower in March, moving down 0.1 percent as prices of manufactured Canadian goods, down 0.7 percent, fell for the third month in a row. In contrast, prices of imported nonmanufactured goods from Canada rose 4.2 percent in March. In the 12 months ended in March, prices of Canadian imports rose 2.3 percent.

Imports from the European Union recorded a 0.4 percent price increase, on average, in March. In February, the index had been unchanged. During the past 12 months, the average price of imported goods from the European Union advanced 3.7 percent.

Import and Export Services

The Import Air Freight Index decreased by 1.2 percent in the first quarter of 1996. Both the Atlantic and Pacific regions contributed to this decline with decreases of 2.3 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. (See table 9.)

The Export Air Passenger Fares Index gained 1.6 percent during the first quarter, reflecting increases of 2.0 percent in the Atlantic region, 2.3 percent in the Pacific region, and 4.0 percent in the Canadian region. A slight decline of 0.6 percent in the Latin American/Caribbean region moderated the gain.

The Import Ocean Liner Freight Index declined for the second consecutive quarter, edging down 0.2 percent. A 1.4 percent decline in the U.S. West Coast index more than offset a 1.0 percent rise in the index for the U.S. East Coast.