Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until                               USDL-16-0745
8:30 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, April 12, 2016

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                          U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES - MARCH 2016

U.S. import prices increased 0.2 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The 
advance followed a 0.4-percent drop the previous month and was driven by an upturn in fuel prices which 
more than offset lower nonfuel prices. Prices for U.S. exports recorded no change in March, after falling 0.5 
percent in February. 

Imports

All Imports: The price index for U.S. imports rose 0.2 percent in March, the first monthly increase for the 
index since a 0.1-percent uptick in June 2015. The March advance was the largest 1-month rise since the 
index increased 1.1 percent in May 2015. Despite the upturn, overall import prices remained down over the 
past year, falling 6.2 percent from March 2015 to March 2016. 

Fuel Imports: Import fuel prices increased 4.9 percent in March following declines of 5.9 percent in 
February, 15.7 percent in January, and 10.0 percent in December. The March advance was the first monthly 
increase since the index rose 1.5 percent in June 2015 and the largest advance since a 10.8-percent increase 
in May 2015. The March rise was led by a 6.5-percent advance in petroleum prices that more than offset a 
16.1-percent drop in natural gas prices. Fuel prices decreased 38.3 percent over the past 12 months; a 39.5-
percent decline in petroleum prices and a 37.7-percent fall in natural gas prices each contributed to the 
overall drop. 

All Imports Excluding Fuel: Prices for nonfuel imports in March fell 0.1 percent for a third consecutive 
month. Nonfuel import prices have not recorded an increase since the index advanced 0.1 percent in July 
2014. In March, falling prices for consumer goods; foods, feeds, and beverages; and capital goods more than 
countered rising prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials, and automotive vehicles. Nonfuel 
import prices declined 2.5 percent for the year ended in March. 

Table A. Percent change in Import and Export Price Indexes, selected categories

Exports

All Exports: U.S. export prices recorded no change in March.  This is the first time that the index did not 
decline since a 0.5-percent rise in May 2015. Prior to March, export prices decreased 0.5 percent in 
February, 0.8 percent in January, and 1.1 percent in December. In March, agricultural prices declined and 
the price index for nonagricultural exports advanced. Overall prices for U.S. exports decreased 6.1 percent 
over the past year. 

Agricultural Exports: Prices for agricultural exports declined 2.5 percent in March, after rising 0.6 percent 
the previous month. The March decrease matched a 2.5-percent drop in August 2015; those were the largest 
1-month declines since the index fell 3.1 percent in August 2014. The decrease in March was driven by 
lower prices for fruit, soybeans, corn, and nuts. Agricultural prices also fell over the past 12 months, 
declining 11.1 percent for the year ended in March. 

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: The price index for nonagricultural exports rose 0.3 percent in March 
following a 0.5-percent decrease in February. The March advance was the first monthly increase for the 
index since a 0.6-percent rise in May 2015. In March, higher prices for nonagricultural industrial supplies 
and materials more than offset falling automotive vehicles prices. Despite the March upturn, nonagricultural 
export prices decreased 5.6 percent over the past 12 months. 


                                    SELECTED MARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Import Prices

Imports by Locality of Origin: In March, import prices from China declined 0.2 percent for the second 
consecutive month. The index has not recorded a monthly increase since ticking up 0.1 percent in December 
2014 and declined 1.8 percent over the past year. That matched the largest 12-month drop since the index 
decreased 2.4 percent for the year ended November 2009. Prices for imports from the European Union also 
declined in March, edging down 0.1 percent. In contrast, the price index for imports from Japan rose 0.1 
percent in March, after increasing 0.2 percent in February. Import prices from Canada and Mexico advanced 
0.5 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively, led by an upturn in petroleum prices. 

Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonfuel industrial supplies and materials prices advanced 0.5 
percent in March, the first 1-month increase since the index rose 0.5 percent in July 2014 and the largest 
monthly advance since a 0.6-percent rise in March 2014. The March 2016 increase was led by a 3.2-percent 
increase in unfinished metals prices which more than offset lower chemical prices. 

Finished Goods: Consumer goods prices fell 0.3 percent in March, after increasing 0.3 percent in February. 
The March decline was led by a 1.0-percent drop in the price index for medicinal, dental, and 
pharmaceutical materials. Prices for capital goods also decreased in March, edging down 0.1 percent. In 
contrast, automotive vehicles prices rose 0.1 percent, the first monthly advance for the index since a 0.1-
percent increase in July 2015. 

Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: Prices for foods, feeds, and beverages declined 0.6 percent in March, 
following a 1.6-percent decrease the previous month. The March drop was driven by lower prices for 
vegetables, meat, and fruit. 

Transportation Services: Import air passenger fares declined 5.4 percent in March, the largest monthly 
drop since the index fell 6.8 percent in January 2015. The March decrease was led by an 11.3-percent 
decline in European fares. The index for import air passenger fares fell 6.3 percent for the year ended in 
March. Import air freight prices decreased 0.1 percent in March and 12.6 percent over the past year. 

Export Prices

Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: Nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials 
prices rose 0.8 percent in March following a 2.2-percent decline the previous month. Higher metals prices in 
March drove the increase. 

Finished Goods: Finished goods prices were mixed in March. The price index for automotive vehicles 
decreased 0.2 percent for the second consecutive month. In contrast, consumer goods prices ticked up 0.1 
percent, the first 1-month increase since the index advanced 0.4 percent in June 2015. Prices for capital 
goods recorded no change in March. 

Transportation Services: Export air passenger fares advanced 7.8 percent in March following a 13.5-
percent drop the previous month. The March increase was the largest monthly rise since the index advanced 
8.3 percent in December 2014. Despite the March rise, export air passenger fares fell 4.6 percent over the 
past year. Export air freight prices declined 3.0 percent in March and 1.8 percent over the past year. 

Import and Export Price Index data for April 2016 are scheduled for release on Thursday, May 12, 2016 at 
8:30 a.m. (EDT). 

					     TECHNICAL NOTE


Import and Export Merchandise and Services Price Indexes - All indexes use a modified Laspeyres 
formula and are not seasonally adjusted. Price indexes are reweighted annually, with a 2-year lag in the 
weights. Published series use a base year of 2000=100 where possible. More detailed index series and 
additional information may be obtained at www.bls.gov/mxp or by calling (202) 691-7101.

Merchandise Goods Classification Systems - The merchandise price indexes are published using three 
classification systems. Items are classified by end use according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis 
Classification System, by industry according to the North American Industry Classification System 
(NAICS), and by product category according to the Harmonized System (HS). While classification by 
end use and product category are self-explanatory, some notes are in order for classifying items by 
industry. In the NAICS imports and exports tables, items are classified by output industry, not input 
industry. As an example, NAICS import index 326 (plastics and rubber products manufacturing) include 
outputs such as manufactured plastic rather than inputs such as petroleum. The NAICS classification 
structure also matches the classification system used by the Producer Price Index (PPI) to produce the 
NAICS primary products indexes.

Import Price Indexes - Products have been classified by the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States Annotated (TSUSA). Import prices are based on U.S. dollar prices paid by the U.S. importer. The 
prices are generally either "free on board" (f.o.b.) foreign port or "cost, insurance, and freight" (c.i.f.) 
U.S. port transaction prices, depending on the practices of the individual industry. The index for crude 
petroleum is calculated from data collected by the U.S. Department of Energy.  

Export Price Indexes - Products have been classified by the Harmonized Schedule B classification 
system of the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The prices used are generally either "free alongside ship" 
(f.a.s.) factory or "free on board" (f.o.b.) transaction prices, depending on the practices of the individual 
industry. Prices used in the grain index, excluding rice, are obtained from the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture.

Services Price Indexes - Starting in September 2008, the import air passenger fares indexes represent 
changes in the average revenue per passenger received by foreign carriers from U.S. residents and are 
calculated from data obtained from an airline consulting service. These data include tickets sold by 
travel agencies and travel websites. Tickets sold directly by the airlines are excluded, as are frequent 
flyer tickets generally. Starting in January 2008, the export air passenger fares indexes represent changes 
in the average revenue per passenger received by U.S. carriers from foreign residents and are calculated 
from data collected directly from airlines. These data include frequent flyer tickets and those sold by 
consolidators. Taxes and fees are included in the import air passenger fares indexes and excluded from 
the export air passenger fares indexes. The air freight indexes are calculated from data collected directly 
from airlines. These data exclude mail and passenger baggage. The scope of the service being priced is 
the movement of freight from airport to airport only, and does not include any ground transportation or 
port service. The air freight indexes are presented using two definitions: balance of payments (which 
represent transactions between U.S. and foreign residents) and international (which represent 
transactions inbound to and outbound from the U.S.). Fact sheets specifying detailed information for 
each services industry are available at www.bls.gov/mxp under "MXP Publications."

Import Indexes by Locality of Origin - Prices used in these indexes are a subset of the data collected 
for the import price indexes. Beginning with January 2002, the indexes are defined by locality of origin 
using a nomenclature based upon the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). 
Nonmanufactured goods are defined as NAICS 11 and 21, and manufactured goods are defined as 
NAICS 31-33. 
 
Revision Policy - To reflect the availability of late reports and corrections by respondents, monthly data 
may be revised in each of the 3 months after original publication. After 3 months, no further data 
revisions take place. For example, data first published in the January release will be subject to revision 
in the releases for February, March, and April.

Uses of the Data - The primary use of the indexes is to deflate trade statistics, notably the foreign trade 
sector of the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) constructed by the Department of 
Commerce. Other published indexes are useful for general market analysis. For trade in international 
services, balance of payments indexes are used for deflating NIPA, while international indexes are more 
appropriate for market analysis. Merchandise and services indexes also can be used to study U.S. 
competitiveness and to compute price elasticities, and the merchandise import indexes by country or 
region of origin are useful in terms of trade analysis.

Email Subscription - The U.S. import and export price indexes news release is available through an 
email subscription service at www.bls.gov/bls/list.htm. 
 
Additional Information - More detailed data are available on the Import/Export Price Indexes home 
page at www.bls.gov/mxp. For import and export price indexes data requests, send an email to 
mxpinfo@bls.gov.   

Information from this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.  
Voice phone: (202)-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-(800)-877-8339.