March 1998 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 1998-

The U.S. Import Price Index fell 1.0 percent in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The index decreased for the fifth consecutive month, as both petroleum and nonpetroleum import prices continued to decline. The U.S. Export Price Index, down 0.2 percent in March, fell for the fourth month in a row.

Import Goods

The March import price decline of 1.0 percent was similar to the average monthly decline over the previous three months. During the past 12 months, the import price index decreased 5.8 percent. The March decline again was led by a continued sharp drop in petroleum prices, down 9.2 percent. Petroleum prices have declined on average 7.1 percent per month since November 1997, and were down 32.2 percent for the year ended in March. Nonpetroleum import prices also fell in March, down 0.2 percent. This decrease continued a long-term downward trend for the index, which dropped 3.2 percent for the year ended in March and 2.1 percent over the March 1996-97 period.

The index for prices of imported capital goods led the drop in nonpetroleum import prices. The index has declined consistently since the summer of 1995 and was down 0.5 percent in March and 6.7 percent over the past 12 months. The index for industrial supplies and materials excluding petroleum fell for the fourth consecutive month, down 0.2 percent in March, after dropping 0.9, 1.6, and 1.4 percent in each of the previous three months, respectively. Falling chemical prices continued to lead the decline. Import prices for consumer goods also fell last month, dropping 0.4 percent, due to a downturn in consumer nonmanufactured goods. Import prices for automotive vehicles, parts, and engines were unchanged for the third consecutive month.

In contrast, the index for foods, feeds, and beverages posted an upturn in March, increasing 0.2 percent after falling 0.7 percent in February and 0.4 percent in January. Despite the increase the index was down 4.1 percent over the past 12 months.

Export Goods

Declines for both nonagricultural and agricultural prices contributed to the 0.2 percent decrease in overall export prices in March. Export prices have either declined or been unchanged in each of the last 12 months, and were down 2.7 percent for the year ended in March. The price index of agricultural exports fell 0.6 percent in March, after posting somewhat larger declines in the three previous months. For the March 1997-98 period, the index was down 10.9 percent. Prices of nonagricultural exports also fell in March, down 0.3 percent. The decline is the seventh consecutive drop in this index, which is down 1.7 percent over the past 12 months.

The decrease in nonagricultural exports was led by a 0.9 percent drop in the index of nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials. Over the 12-month period ended in March, nonagricultural supplies and materials prices fell 3.8 percent. Capital goods export prices also fell in March, down 0.1 percent due primarily to declines in computer prices. For the year ended in March, the capital goods index was down 1.7 percent.

Both of the other major finished goods areas, automotive vehicles and consumer goods, remained unchanged in March. Automotive vehicles prices have been unchanged in each of the last four months and were up 0.4 percent over the past year. The export index of consumer goods prices posted no change for the second consecutive month, and was up 0.8 percent for the year ended in March.

Imports by Locality of Origin

Prices for imports from Japan rose 0.2 percent in March. (See table 7.) The increase matched a similar rise in June 1997, and was only the second advance posted in this index since November 1995. For the year ended in March, the index was down 4.6 percent.

In contrast, the index of imports from the Asian Newly Industrialized Countries continued a trend of falling prices,decreasing 0.8 percent in March. The index has declined 4.4 percent since October 1997, and was down 6.9 percent over the March 1997-98 period.

Import prices from Canada and the European Union also fell in March, declining 0.5 and 0.3 percent, respectively. Over the past 12 months, import prices from Canada were down 3.6 percent and import prices from the EU fell 1.6 percent.

The price index of imports from Latin America decreased 1.9 percent in March. The decrease followed declines of 0.6 percent in February and 2.5 percent in January.

Import and Export Services

The import air freight index decreased 7.0 percent from December to March. The decrease marked the third consecutive quarterly decline, as the index dropped 2.3 percent and 2.0 percent in the previous two quarters, respectively. In contrast, the export air freight index posted a 1.7 percent increase in March after declining in the previous three quarters.

The import air passenger fares index decreased 1.0 percent during the first quarter of 1998, following declines of 6.5 percent in the fourth quarter and 1.5 percent in the third quarter of last year. Despite the downturn, the index was up 2.8 percent for the year. Export air passenger fares, however, increased 2.4 percent from December to March after decreasing in the previous two quarters. For the year ended in March the index rose 5.0 percent.

The import ocean liner freight index declined for the eighth consecutive quarter, dropping 0.1 percent. Both the U.S. east coast and U.S. west coast indexes edged down last quarter.