January 2002 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.

-JANUARY 2002-

The U.S. Import Price Index increased 0.4 percent in January 2002, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The upturn, the first since May of last year, was led by a turnaround in prices for petroleum. In January, the Export Price Index fell for the fourth straight month, dipping 0.1 percent.

Import Goods

The 0.4 percent increase in prices for imported goods in January followed a year-long downward trend recorded in 2001. Import prices had dropped 4.6 percent in the last three months of 2001 and 9.0 percent for all of 2001. The upturn in January 2002 for overall import prices was largely attributable to rising prices for petroleum products, which increased 6.0 percent. Petroleum prices had decreased 30.6 percent over the previous three months. The index for nonpetroleum import prices also rose in January, edging up a modest 0.1 percent. This uptick followed 11 consecutive monthly declines in this component.

The small rise in nonpetroleum import prices in January was largely attributable to higher import prices for foods, feeds, and beverages--particularly vegetables. Import prices for foods, feeds, and beverages rose 1.4 percent in January. Over the past 12 months, however, this index decreased 3.2 percent.

In contrast, prices in all of the other major commodity areas--automotive vehicles, capital goods, industrial supplies and materials excluding petroleum, and consumer goods--either fell or were unchanged last month. Import prices for automotive vehicles, parts, and engines decreased 0.2 percent in January, while the index for capital goods decreased for the 10th consecutive month, dipping 0.1 percent. In addition, after declining 11 straight months, import prices for industrial supplies and materials excluding petroleum were unchanged in January. Over the past 12 months, the index decreased 17.6 percent. The index for consumer goods was unchanged for the second month in a row and was down 0.9 percent for the year.

Export Goods

Prices for overall exports edged down 0.1 percent in January, the 11th decrease in the past 12 months for this index. For the year ended in January, export prices were down 2.8 percent. Agricultural export prices increased 0.7 percent in January, after rising 1.0 percent in the previous month. Agricultural exports, however, were down 1.6 percent over the past 12 months. Nonagricultural export prices were unchanged in January, after decreasing in each of the previous three months. Nonagricultural export prices have declined or been unchanged in 11 of the past 12 months and were down 2.8 percent over the past year.

The nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials index--led by an upturn in prices for fuels and lubricants--rose 0.4 percent in January. Prices for nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials had dropped 1.2 percent in December, 1.3 percent in November, and 1.7 percent in October. Over the past 12 months, the index was down 8.2 percent.

All of the indexes for major finished goods areas (capital goods, autos, and consumer goods) either decreased or posted no change in January. Prices for capital goods decreased 0.2 percent, after declining 0.3 percent in December. Over the past 12 months, the index fell 1.1 percent. The export price index for consumer goods fell 0.5 percent in January, the first decrease posted since May 2001. Export prices for autos were unchanged in January.

Imports by Locality of Origin

Import prices from Japan fell for the 12th time in the past 13 months, falling 0.7 percent in January. For the year ended in January, the index fell 3.5 percent.

Import prices from the Asian Newly Industrialized Countries also declined last month, decreasing 0.3 percent after declining 0.8 percent in December.

In contrast, prices from Canada and Latin America, both heavily influenced by prices of petroleum and other raw materials, rose 0.3 percent and 0.1 percent in January, respectively.

Import prices from the European Union also were up last month, rising 0.2 percent after recording no change in December. For the year ended in January, the index decreased 0.9 percent.

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

Beginning with this release, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is making two changes to the U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes. First, all price indexes have been reweighted to 2000 trade weights. Second, these indexes have been 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 are 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 for monthly indexes and March 2002 forward for quarterly services indexes. In addition, as a result of shifts in trade patterns, there also are 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 have been 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.