Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until                                   USDL-13-1312
8:30 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, July 11, 2013

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                             U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES - JUNE 2013

Prices for U.S. imports decreased 0.2 percent in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, 
following a 0.7 percent decline in May. In June, a drop in nonfuel prices more than offset increasing fuel 
prices. The price index for U.S. exports edged down 0.1 percent in June, after a 0.5 percent decrease the 
previous month.


Imports

All Imports: Import prices fell 0.2 percent in June following decreases of 0.7 percent in May, 0.6 percent in 
April, and 0.1 percent in March. Unlike the May and April declines where lower fuel prices contributed to 
the decreases, the June drop resulted solely from lower nonfuel prices. Despite the decline over the past four 
months, overall import prices rose 0.2 percent for the year ended in June following a 1.9 percent decrease 
from May 2012 to May 2013.

Fuel Imports: Import fuel prices ticked up 0.1 percent in June following a 1.9 percent drop in May and a 
2.4 percent decline in April. The June rise was led by a 0.2 percent advance in petroleum prices, following a 
2.0 percent drop the previous month. In contrast, natural gas prices decreased 1.2 percent in June. Prices for 
import fuel rose 4.6 percent over the past year, after falling 11.5 percent between June 2011 and June 2012. 
A 2.9 percent rise in petroleum prices and a 93.3 percent advance in natural gas prices each contributed to 
the 12-month increase in fuel prices.             

All Imports Excluding Fuel: In contrast to fuel prices, nonfuel prices continued to decline in June, falling 
0.3 percent, after decreases of 0.3 percent in May, 0.2 percent in April, and 0.1 percent in March. In June, 
lower prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials; foods, feeds, and beverages; and each of the major 
finished goods categories all contributed to the overall decline in nonfuel prices. The price index for nonfuel 
imports fell 1.0 percent over the past year, primarily driven by a 4.2 percent drop in nonfuel industrial 
supplies and materials prices.    

Table A. Import and export price indexes, selected categories
 Percent changes

Exports 

All Exports: U.S. export prices edged down 0.1 percent in June following declines of 0.5 percent, 0.7 
percent, and 0.5 percent the three previous months. In June, decreasing nonagricultural prices more than 
offset an increase in the price index for agricultural exports. Overall export prices increased 0.8 percent for 
the year ended in June, after decreasing 0.9 percent for the year ended in May.

Agricultural Exports: Agricultural prices advanced 0.6 percent in June following a 1.1 percent increase in 
May. The June rise was led by a 5.3 percent advance in soybean prices, a 2.3 percent increase in corn prices, 
and a 4.7 percent rise in nut prices. Prices for agricultural exports increased 9.3 percent between June 2012 
and June 2013.                     

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: The price index for nonagricultural exports declined 0.2 percent in 
June, driven by a 0.5 percent drop in nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials prices. The June 
decline followed decreases of 0.7 percent in May and 0.5 percent in April. Nonagricultural prices also fell 
for the year ended in June, declining 0.3 percent.



                                         SELECTED JUNE HIGHLIGHTS

Import Prices

Imports by Locality of Origin: Import prices from Japan continued to fall in June, declining 0.5 percent. 
Prices for imports from Japan have decreased 2.2 percent over the first half of 2013, and have paralleled the 
drop in the value of the yen compared to the U.S. dollar. The price index for imports from China edged 
down 0.1 percent for the third consecutive month in June, and has not recorded a monthly advance since 
February 2012. Import prices from China fell 1.0 percent over the past 12 months. Prices for imports from 
Mexico, Canada, and the European Union also decreased in June, falling 0.5 percent, 0.2 percent, and 0.1 
percent, respectively.

Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: The price index for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials 
declined 1.0 percent in June following a 1.3 percent drop in May. In June, a 1.7 percent drop in unfinished 
metals prices was the largest contributor to the decline. Building materials prices also fell in June, down 3.4 
percent, led by lower lumber prices. 

Finished Goods: Each of the major finished goods categories recorded decreases in June. Automotive 
vehicles prices fell 0.3 percent, driven by a 0.6 percent decline in parts prices. The price indexes for 
consumer goods and capital goods both edged down 0.1 percent. 
 
Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: Foods, feeds, and beverages prices declined 1.2 percent in June, after rising 
0.4 percent in May. The June decrease was led by a 7.0 percent drop in fruit prices. Lower coffee and 
vegetable prices also contributed to the decline. 

Transportation Services: Import air passenger fares rose 10.7 percent in June following increases of 2.0 
percent in May and 0.3 percent in April. The June advance was driven by a 14.6 percent jump in European 
fares and an 11.4 percent rise in Asian fares. The recent increases led import air passenger fares up 2.9 
percent over the past year. In contrast, import air freight prices fell 0.3 percent in June and 3.8 percent over 
the past 12 months.

Export Prices

Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: Prices for nonagricultural industrial supplies and 
materials decreased 0.5 percent in June, after a 1.7 percent decline the previous month. The drop was driven 
by a 2.5 percent decrease in nonferrous metals prices; lower chemicals prices were also a contributing factor. 

Finished Goods: The major finished goods categories recorded little price movement in June; consumer 
goods prices fell 0.1 percent, and the price indexes for capital goods and automotive vehicles were both 
unchanged, after each of the major finished goods categories edged down 0.1 percent in May.

Transportation Services: Export air passenger fares increased 2.1 percent in June following a 6.0 percent 
advance in May. The June increase was driven by a 16.4 percent rise in European fares. Despite the recent 
increases, export air passenger fares fell 3.6 percent for the year ended in June. Export air freight prices 
declined 0.9 percent in June and 1.1 percent over the past year.

Import and Export Price Index data for July 2013 are scheduled for release on Tuesday, August 13, 
2013 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 two-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 http://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 PPI (Producer Price 
Index) 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 Index and excluded 
from the Export Air Passenger Fares Index. 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 http://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 three months after original publication.  After three months, no further data 
revisions take place.  So, for example, data released 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 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 National Income and Product Accounts, 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.

E-Mail Subscription -- The U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes news release is available through an 
e-mail subscription service at (http://www.bls.gov/bls/list.htm).
 
Additional Information -- More detailed data are available on the Import/Export Price Indexes home 
page at (http://www.bls.gov/mxp).  Flat Files and the FTP server are available for users requiring access 
to either a large volume of time series data or other related documentation. The FTP site can be accessed 
at ftp://ftp.bls.gov.   For technical assistance in using the BLS Internet site, send e-mail to 
(labstat.helpdesk@bls.gov).  For Import/Export Price Index data requests, send e-mail 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.