October 2023 U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes

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U.S. import prices declined 0.8 percent in October, after increasing 0.4 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Lower fuel and nonfuel prices contributed to the decrease. Prices for U.S. exports fell 1.1 percent in October following a 0.5-percent rise the previous month.

Imports

The price index for U.S. imports fell 0.8 percent in October, the first monthly drop since June 2023. The October decrease was the largest 1-month decline since the index fell 0.8 percent in March 2023. Prices for U.S. imports decreased 2.0 percent for the year ended October 2023. (See table 1.)

Fuel Imports: Prices for import fuel declined 6.3 percent in October, after advancing 6.3 percent the previous month. The October drop was the first 1-month decrease since May 2023 and the largest monthly decline since a 6.3-percent drop in September 2022. Lower prices in October for both petroleum and natural gas contributed to the decrease in fuel prices. The price index for import fuel fell 11.2 percent from October 2022 to October 2023. Import petroleum prices declined 6.5 percent in October following a 6.8-percent increase in September and an 8.9-percent advance in August. The October decrease was the largest 1-month drop since January 2023. Import petroleum prices fell 9.6 percent over the past year. Prices for import natural gas decreased 5.3 percent in October, after declining 6.7 percent the previous month. Natural gas prices fell 49.9 percent for the year ended in October.

All Imports Excluding Fuel: Nonfuel import prices declined 0.2 percent for the third consecutive month in October. Prices for nonfuel imports have not recorded a monthly advance since a 0.4-percent increase in February 2023. Lower prices in October for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials; capital goods; foods, feeds, and beverages; and consumer goods more than offset higher prices for automotive vehicles. The price index for nonfuel imports fell 0.9 percent over the past 12 months.

Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: Prices for import foods, feeds, and beverages decreased 0.6 percent in October, after declining 0.4 percent the previous month. Lower prices in October for fish and shellfish were the largest contributor to the decline in foods, feeds, and beverages prices.

Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonfuel industrial supplies and materials prices fell 0.5 percent in October and have not increased on a monthly basis since February 2023. Lower prices in October for both finished and unfinished metals led the decline in nonfuel industrial supplies and materials prices.

Finished Goods: Prices for the major finished goods import categories were mixed in October. Import capital goods prices declined 0.2 percent, after being unchanged in September. The October drop was the largest monthly decrease since November 2019. Lower prices for computers, peripherals, and semiconductors led the October drop in capital goods prices. Consumer goods prices edged down 0.1 percent in October and have not recorded a 1-month advance since May 2023. In contrast, the price index for automotive vehicles rose 0.3 percent in October following a 0.1-percent increase the previous month.

Exports

Prices for U.S. exports fell 1.1 percent in October following a 0.5-percent increase in September. The decline in October was the largest monthly drop since a 2.1-percent decrease in May 2023. Lower prices for nonagricultural and agricultural exports each contributed to the October decline. U.S. export prices fell 4.9 percent for the year ended in October. (See table 2.)

Agricultural Exports: Export agricultural prices declined 1.1 percent in October, after falling 1.2 percent the previous month. Lower prices in October for soybeans more than offset higher prices for corn and meat. The price index for agricultural exports declined 8.5 percent over the past year, the largest 12-month decrease since June 2023. Export agricultural prices last rose on an over-the-year basis in February 2023.

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: The price index for nonagricultural exports fell 1.0 percent in October following a 0.7-percent increase in September. The October decline was the largest 1-month decrease since the index fell 2.1 percent in May 2023. Lower prices in October for nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials, consumer goods, and nonagricultural foods more than offset higher prices for capital goods and automotive vehicles. Prices for nonagricultural exports declined 4.5 percent over the past year.

Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials prices fell 2.5 percent in October, the largest 1-month drop since the index declined 5.0 percent in May 2023. Lower fuel prices in October drove the overall decrease in nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials prices.

Finished Goods: Prices for the major finished goods export categories were mixed in October. Prices for export capital goods advanced 0.2 percent following 0.1-percent increases in September and August. Capital goods prices have not recorded a monthly decline since November 2022. The price index for automotive vehicles rose 0.2 percent in October, after advancing 1.0 percent the previous month. Higher prices for vehicles designed to transport goods drove the October rise in automotive vehicles prices. In contrast, export consumer goods prices declined 0.3 percent for the third consecutive month in October.

More information for the major import and export price indexes can be found at www.bls.gov/web/ximpim/largest.htm.

Measures of Import and Export Prices by Locality

Imports by Locality of Origin: Import prices from China were unchanged in October, after edging down 0.1 percent the previous month. Prices for imports from China have not increased on a monthly basis since October 2022. The price index for imports from China decreased 2.8 percent over the past year, the largest 12-month decline since October 2009. Import prices from Japan rose 0.4 percent in October, the largest monthly advance since rising 0.5 percent in July 2023. Prices for imports from Japan increased 0.6 percent for the year ended October 2023. The price index for imports from Canada decreased 2.3 percent in October following a 1.4-percent advance in September. The October drop was the largest monthly decline since a 4.0-percent decrease in February 2023. Import prices from Canada fell 6.7 percent over the past 12 months. Prices for imports from Mexico declined 0.6 percent in October and import prices from the European Union declined 0.3 percent over the same period. (See table 7.)

Exports by Locality of Destination: Export prices to China declined 0.9 percent in October, after rising 0.6 percent in September. Prices for exports to China also decreased on a 12-month basis in October, falling 4.8 percent. The price index for exports to Japan fell 0.4 percent in October following 0.1-percent declines in each of the 2 previous months. Export prices to Japan decreased 8.8 percent from October 2022 to October 2023. In contrast, prices for exports to Canada ticked up 0.1 percent in October, after increasing 0.3 percent in September. Despite the recent advances, export prices to Canada declined 0.8 percent over the past year. Prices for exports to Mexico and the European Union fell in October, decreasing 1.3 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. (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 0.9 percent in October, after rising 0.7 percent in September. The index for U.S. terms of trade with China declined 2.1 percent over the past year. U.S. terms of trade with Japan decreased 0.8 percent in October following consecutive 0.1-percent declines in each of the past 2 months. Lower export prices to Japan and higher import prices from Japan each contributed to the decline. U.S. terms of trade with Japan fell 9.3 percent over the past year. In contrast, the index for U.S. terms of trade with Canada rose 2.3 percent in October, the largest monthly increase since February 2023. U.S. terms of trade with Mexico and the European Union decreased 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, in October. (See table 9.)

Import and Export Services

Imports: Import air passenger fares rose 2.5 percent in October following a 9.9-percent increase the previous month. The October rise was led by higher Latin American/Caribbean and Asian fares, which more than offset lower European fares. Despite the recent advances, import air passenger fares declined 5.2 percent over the past year. Import air freight prices ticked up 0.1 percent in October, after increasing 4.1 percent in September. Higher Asian and European air freight prices drove the October advance. In spite of the recent increases, import air freight prices fell 18.4 percent for the year ended in October. (See table 10.)

Exports: The index for export air passenger fares declined 0.6 percent in October, after falling 4.5 percent in September and 8.8 percent in August. Lower European and Asian fares in October more than offset higher Latin American/Caribbean fares. Export air passenger fares decreased 6.2 percent from October 2022 to October 2023. Prices for export air freight fell 2.6 percent in October following a 1.0-percent advance in September. The decline in October was the largest 1-month drop since a 2.8-percent decrease in June 2023. Lower Asian and European air freight prices in October each contributed to the drop in export air freight prices. Export air freight prices fell 11.3 percent over the past 12 months.

U.S. Import and Export Price Index data for November 2023 are scheduled for release on Thursday, December 14, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).