September 2000 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes

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- SEPTEMBER 2000-

The U.S. Import Price Index rose 1.5 percent in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The increase was attributable to a rise in petroleum import prices. The Export Price Index increased 0.5 percent in September, following a decline of 0.3 percent in the previous month.

Import Goods

The 1.5 percent increase in the import price index in September followed a 0.2 percent increase in August. In September, imported petroleum prices jumped 14.1 percent, after an increase of 0.1 percent in August. Over the past 12 months, petroleum prices have risen 53.0 percent. Nonpetroleum import prices declined 0.3 percent in September, after increasing 0.1 percent in August, and were up 1.1 percent from September 1999 to September 2000. The price index for all imports rose 6.4 percent over the past 12 months.

Nonpetroleum import prices declined for only the second time since July 1999. Prices for industrial supplies and materials, excluding petroleum, fell 0.8 percent in September-led by a drop in the prices for unfinished metals-after increasing in the previous three months. Over the past 12 months, the index rose 9.0 percent. Prices for foods, feeds, and beverages also decreased in September, falling 0.7 percent. For the year ended in September, the index for foods, feeds, and beverages fell 1.5 percent.

The other major categories, excluding petroleum, also posted declines in September. Prices for imported capital goods and consumer goods each fell 0.1 percent; from September 1999 to September 2000, these indexes decreased 1.7 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively. Prices for automotive vehicles, parts, and engines dipped 0.2 percent for the second month in a row; over the past 12 months, this index increased 0.6 percent.

Export Goods

In September, prices for overall exports increased 0.5 percent as both agricultural prices and nonagricultural prices rose. The index for agricultural exports increased 3.2 percent in September, after falling 5.5 percent during the three prior months. Prices for agricultural exports have declined 1.3 percent over the past 12 months. Nonagricultural export prices increased 0.3 percent in September, after declining 0.1 percent in the previous month; this index advanced 2.2 percent over the past 12 months. Over the same 12- month period, the index for overall exports rose 1.8 percent.

The increase in nonagricultural export prices was led by a 1.3 percent rise in the price index for nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials. The increase in nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials was the result of rising prices for exported fuels and lubricants and followed a decline of 0.5 percent in August. For the year ended in September, prices for exported nonagricultural supplies and materials were up 8.1 percent.

In contrast, the major indexes for finished goods-automotive vehicles, parts, and engines; capital goods; and consumer goods-continued to show comparatively little movement. Both the automobile and capital goods indexes were unchanged in September, while consumer goods prices dipped 0.3 percent. Over the past year, auto prices rose 1.1 percent, while capital goods prices were unchanged. The index for consumer goods was up 0.2 percent for the September 1999 to September 2000 period.

Imports by Locality of Origin

The price index for imports from Japan declined 0.1 percent in September, following a decrease of 0.2 percent in August. For the year ended in September, however, the index rose 1.3 percent.

Import prices for goods from the Asian Newly Industrialized Countries rose in September, increasing 0.2 percent, after falling 0.4 percent in August. Despite the September rise, the index declined 0.7 percent over the past 12 months.

Import prices from Canada increased 1.9 percent in September. The increase was primarily attributable to increasing prices for nonmanufactured goods, which rose 7.8 percent. For the year ended in September, the index of import prices from Canada increased 9.3 percent.

Import prices from the European Union increased 0.1 percent. The slight increase was attributable to an increase in nonmanufactured goods prices. However, manufactured goods prices dipped 0.5 percent in September, paralleling the increase in the value of the U.S. dollar against the Euro. The index for import prices from the European Union rose 0.5 percent over the past year.

The index for imports from Latin America rose 3.6 percent in September. Over the past 12 months, import prices from Latin America have advanced 14.9 percent.

Import and Export Services

The import price index for air freight increased 0.2 percent in the third quarter of 2000 after decreasing in each of the first two quarters of the year. Over the past 12 months, the index was down 0.3 percent. Export air freight prices were unchanged, on average, over both the June-September quarter and the past year.

Prices for import air passenger fares were up slightly in the third quarter, increasing 1.6 percent. Over the past 12 months, the index gained 5.7 percent. Export air passenger fares also increased in the third quarter, rising 1.1 percent, and were up 2.1 percent over the September 1999 to September 2000 period.

The price index for import ocean liner freight dipped 0.2 percent over the third quarter and was down 5.1 percent over the past 12 months.