May 2019 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes

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Prices for U.S. imports declined 0.3 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, following an increase of 0.1 percent the previous month. Lower fuel and nonfuel prices contributed to the May decline in import prices. U.S. export prices fell 0.2 percent in May, after advancing 0.1 percent in April, 0.8 percent in March, and 0.6 percent in February.

Imports

U.S. Import prices fell 0.3 percent in May, the first monthly decline since a 1.4-percent drop in December. Import prices advanced 1.8 percent from December to April before the downturn in May. The price index for overall imports decreased 1.5 percent over the past 12 months, matching the drop in January. These were the largest over-the-year declines since the index fell 2.2 percent in August 2016. (See table 1.)

Fuel Imports: Import fuel prices declined 1.0 percent in May, after rising 25.4 percent over the previous 4 months. Lower prices for both petroleum and natural gas contributed to the May decline. Petroleum prices fell 0.9 percent in May, after a 4.7-percent advance in April. The May decrease was the first monthly decline since a 15.3-percent drop in December. Natural gas prices fell 6.8 percent in May following a 51.1- percent decline the previous month. Overall fuel prices decreased 1.1 percent over the past year. The decline was driven by a 1.9-percent drop in petroleum prices which more than offset a 2.5-percent rise in natural gas prices.

All Imports Excluding Fuel: Prices for nonfuel imports fell 0.3 percent in May following a 0.1-percent decline in April and a 0.2-percent decrease in March. Lower prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials; foods, feeds, and beverages; capital goods; and automotive vehicles all contributed to the May decrease in nonfuel prices. The price index for nonfuel imports declined 1.4 percent between May 2018 and May 2019.

Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonfuel industrial supplies and materials prices decreased 1.0 percent in May, after falling 0.1 percent in April. The May decline was led by a 1.9-percent drop in unfinished metals prices. Lower prices for building materials and paper also contributed to the overall decline.

Finished Goods: Finished goods prices were mostly down in May. The price indexes for capital goods and automotive vehicles each edged down 0.1 percent following decreases of 0.4 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively, in April. Consumer goods prices recorded no change in May, after declining 0.3 percent the previous month.

Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: Prices for foods, feeds, and beverages fell 0.8 percent in May following a 2.7-percent increase in April. In May, a 10.4-percent drop in vegetable prices more than offset a 7.5-percent advance in fruit prices.

Exports

Prices for U.S. exports declined 0.2 percent in May, the first monthly drop since the index fell 0.6 percent in January. Lower prices for both agricultural and nonagricultural exports contributed to the May decline. Export prices decreased 0.7 percent over the past 12 months, the largest over-the-year decline since the index fell 1.1 percent in October 2016. (See table 2.)

Agricultural Exports: The price index for agricultural exports declined 1.0 percent in May, after decreasing 1.5 percent the previous month. In May, lower prices for soybeans, wheat, and fruit more than offset higher prices for meat and vegetables. Agricultural export prices fell 5.3 percent over the past year, the largest 12-month drop since the index declined 9.1 percent in April 2016. A 20.6-percent decrease in soybeans prices for the year ended in May led the overall decline in agricultural prices. The drop in soybeans prices more than offset higher vegetable prices over the past 12 months.

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: Nonagricultural export prices decreased 0.2 percent in May following a 0.2-percent increase the previous month. In May, falling prices for nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials; consumer goods; nonagricultural foods; and automotive vehicles more than offset rising prices for capital goods. The price index for nonagricultural exports also declined 0.2 percent for the year ended in May. Lower prices for nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials drove the overall decrease. In contrast, prices for each of the major finished goods categories rose over the past 12 months.

Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: Prices for nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials decreased 0.4 percent in May, after rising 0.7 percent in April. Decreasing prices for fuel and nonferrous metals more than offset advancing chemicals prices.

Finished Goods: Finished goods prices were mixed in May. Prices for capital goods ticked up 0.1 percent for the second consecutive month. A 0.7-percent advance in transportation equipment prices led the May increase in capital goods prices. In contrast, consumer goods prices decreased 0.2 percent in May and prices for automotive vehicles edged down 0.1 percent.

Measures of Import and Export Prices by Locality

Imports by Locality of Origin: The price index for imports from China edged down 0.1 percent in May following a 0.2-percent drop the previous month. Import prices from China have not recorded a monthly advance since the index rose 0.1 percent in May 2018. Prices for imports from China declined 1.4 percent over the past year, the largest 12-month drop since a 1.6-percent decrease in February 2017. Import prices from Japan recorded no change in May, after a 0.1-percent decline in April. Prices for imports from Japan also recorded no change from May 2018 to May 2019. The price index for imports from Canada declined 1.0 percent in May, driven by lower fuel prices. The May drop followed a 2.1-percent increase in April. In contrast, import prices from Mexico and the European Union advanced 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. (See table 7.)

Exports by Locality of Destination: Export prices to China fell 1.4 percent in May, after increasing 1.9 percent over the previous 3 months. The May decrease was led by a 4.6-percent drop in nonmanufacturing prices, though lower manufacturing prices also contributed to the overall decline. Prices for exports to China decreased 4.3 percent over the past 12 months. The price index for exports to Japan also fell in May, declining 0.9 percent. The decrease followed a 0.7-percent advance in April. Export prices to Japan fell 2.0 percent over the past year. In May, prices for exports to Canada decreased 0.3 percent, after declining 0.7 percent in April. Export prices to Mexico and the European Union each edged down 0.1 percent in May. Prices for exports to Mexico fell 0.4 percent in April and the price index for exports to the European Union rose 0.6 percent. (See table 8.)

Terms of Trade Indexes: Terms of Trade indexes are based on country, region, or grouping and measure the change in the purchasing power of exports relative to imports. U.S. terms of trade with China fell 1.3 percent in May following 0.7-percent increases in each of the previous 2 months. The decline in May resulted from export prices to China falling more than import prices from China. The index for U.S. terms of trade with China decreased 2.9 percent over the past year. U.S. terms of trade with Japan declined 0.9 percent in May, after rising 0.8 percent in April. The index for U.S. terms of trade with Japan fell 1.9 percent for the year ended in May. U.S. terms of trade with Mexico and the European Union also decreased in May, declining 0.5 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. In contrast, terms of trade between the United States and Canada rose 0.7 percent in May, after falling 2.7 percent the previous month. (See table 9.)

Import and Export Services

Imports: Import air passenger fares increased 6.9 percent in May following a 7.2-percent decline in April and a 5.7-percent decrease in March. The May advance was driven by an 8.0-percent rise in European fares and a 9.9-percent increase in Asian fares. The index for import air passenger fares fell 1.9 percent for the year ended in May. Prices for import air freight rose 0.8 percent in May, after increasing 1.7 percent in April. Despite the recent advances, import air freight prices declined 7.9 percent over the past year, the largest 12-month drop since the index fell 9.5 percent in July 2016. (See table 10.)

Exports: Export air passenger fares advanced 0.7 percent in May following a 1.4-percent decline in April. The May increase was led by a 5.6-percent rise in Asian fares. Despite the advance in May, export air passenger fares fell 2.1 percent over the past year and have not recorded a 12-month advance since the index rose 2.4 percent in September. The price index for export air freight rose 0.3 percent in May and 1.3 percent over the past 12 months.

Import and Export Price Index data for June are scheduled for release on Tuesday, July 16, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).