November 2001 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.

-NOVEMBER 2001-

The U.S. Import Price Index decreased 1.6 percent in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The decline followed a 2.4 percent decrease in October and reflected continuing drops in both petroleum and nonpetroleum prices. The Export Price Index also continued to fall in November, down 0.4 percent after falling 0.7 percent in October.

Import Goods

Prices for imported goods continued a year-long downward trend; the decline for the year ended in November was 8.9 percent. The sharp declines for overall imports in the past two months were led by falling prices for petroleum and petroleum products. This index fell 10.8 percent in November, after falling 15.9 percent in October. Over the past 12 months, petroleum prices fell 40.8 percent. The index for nonpetroleum import prices also fell in October and November, down 0.6 percent in each month; this index has decreased in 10 consecutive months and was down 3.6 percent for the year.

For nonpetroleum imports, the November decline was led by a continuing downturn in prices for industrial supplies and materials excluding petroleum, which fell 2.3 percent. The decline was the 10th in a row and was broad based as prices for natural gas, chemicals, lumber, metals, and paper contributed to the decline. The index for capital goods dipped 0.1 percent for the second straight month. Import prices for capital goods have declined for eight consecutive months and were down 2.5 percent for the year. The index for automotive vehicles, parts, and engines also dipped 0.1 percent in November, after increasing in each of the previous two months. For the year, the index fell 0.2 percent. The index for consumer goods was unchanged last month, after posting declines of 0.1 percent in October and September.

Led by rising vegetable prices, the index for foods, feeds, and beverages rose 0.5 percent in November, after dropping the same amount the previous month. Over the year, the index for foods, feeds, and beverages was down 2.8 percent.

Export Goods

Prices for overall exports decreased 0.4 percent last month, the ninth decrease in the past 10 months for this index, and were down 2.5 percent for the year. The November decrease followed a 0.7 percent decline in October, again reflecting declines for both agricultural and nonagricultural prices. Agricultural export prices fell for the third consecutive month, down 1.1 percent in November, largely attributable to a fall in meat prices. Over the November 2000 to November 2001 period, agricultural prices fell 1.2 percent. Nonagricultural export prices decreased 0.4 percent in November, after a decline of 0.6 percent in the previous month. Nonagricultural export prices have declined in eight of the past nine months and were down 2.6 percent over the past year.

Industrial supplies and materials, particularly fuels and lubricants and to a lesser degree precious metals, continued to lead the drop in nonagricultural exports prices. Nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials dropped 1.3 percent in November, after falling 1.6 percent in October. Over the past 12 months, the index was down 8.3 percent.

All of the major finished goods areas (capital goods, autos, and consumer goods) posted little price movement in November. The index for capital goods was unchanged in November, after declining 0.4 percent in October. Over the past 12 months, the index fell 0.5 percent. The export price index for automotive vehicles dipped 0.1 percent in November, while consumer goods increased by the same amount.

Imports by Locality of Origin

Import prices from Japan fell for the 10th time in the past 11 months, down 0.2 percent in November. From November 2000 to November 2001, the index fell 2.4 percent.

Import prices from the Asian Newly Industrialized Countries also dipped in November, decreasing 0.1 percent after falling 0.8 percent in October. The index has not increased since December 2000 and was down 4.9 percent over the past year.

Prices from Latin America and Canada, both heavily influenced by prices of petroleum and other raw materials, fell 1.7 percent and 1.1 percent in November, respectively. Over the past 12 months, the Latin America index dropped 10.9 percent, while prices from Canada were down 8.8 percent.

The index of prices from the European Union also was down in November, decreasing 0.5 percent, after declining 0.2 percent in October. For the year ended in November, the index fell 1.6 percent.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF CHANGES IN THE U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES

Beginning with the release of January 2002 data on February 14, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will make two changes to the U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes. First, all price indexes will be reweighted to 2000 trade weights. Second, these indexes will be rebased from 1995=100 to 2000=100.

The current practice is to update the weights in these price indexes every five years. The new weights will be based on U.S. export and import shipment values for the calendar year 2000 (as reported by the Bureau of the Census) and will be used in the calculation of indexes from January 2002 forward. In addition, as a result of shifts in trade patterns, there also will be minor changes in the publication structure.

In keeping with the program’s policy of using a reference base that is the same as the weight base, all indexes will be rebased from 1995=100 to 2000=100. This impacts the level of the indexes prior to January 2002; however, it should not (except for rounding) cause any adjustments to the percent changes between different time periods.