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News Release Information

21-2012-PHI
Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Consumer Price Index, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson – October 2021

Area prices increased 2.3 percent since August; up 6.3 percent over the year

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson increased 2.3 percent from August to October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the recent bi-monthly increase was the largest since March 2008 and was due largely to a rise in the all items less food and energy index, up 2.3 percent. The energy index and the food index also rose since August, up 6.4 and 0.6 percent, respectively. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U increased 6.3 percent, the largest 12-month change in over 13 years. The over-the-year rise was mostly due to a 5.3-percent increase in the all items less food and energy index. The energy index and the food index also rose over the year, up 27.4 and 3.3 percent, respectively. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index rose from August to October, up 0.6 percent, reflecting increases for food away from home, up 0.7 percent, and for food at home, up 0.5 percent. Within the food at home component, prices were higher for the meats, poultry, fish, and eggs group along with the nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials, and cereals and bakery products groups, while other groups showed declines.

Over the year, the food index increased 3.3 percent. Prices rose for both food away from home (3.7 percent), and for food at home (2.9 percent).

Energy

The energy index, which includes prices for household and transportation fuels, increased 6.4 percent since August, led by higher prices for gasoline (7.2 percent). Prices for electricity and utility (piped) gas service also rose over the past 2 months, up 4.5 and 9.0 percent, respectively.

Over the year, the energy index increased 27.4 percent, the largest such increase since February 2011. In October it was led by higher prices for gasoline (at 43.7 percent it was more moderate than the recent peak of 57.9 percent in May). Prices were also higher for electricity (8.5 percent—the highest 12-month increase in more than 5 years) and utility (piped) gas service (24.0 percent—the highest 12-month rise since June 2017) since October 2020.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.3 percent from August to October. Almost half of the overall all items index was due to higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (11.7 percent), which were led by those for new vehicles (19.3 percent). Used cars and trucks, which had large increases earlier in the year, fell by 0.7 percent since August. Prices were higher for shelter (1.0 percent) and recreation (1.9 percent).

The index for all items less food and energy increased 5.3 percent since October 2020. The rise was led by higher prices for new and used motor vehicles (27.6 percent). Within that category prices for new vehicles rose 28.6 percent and those for used cars and trucks were up 27.2 percent. Prices were also higher for shelter over the year (2.7 percent).

The Consumer Price Index for December 2021 is scheduled to be released Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at 8:30 am (ET).

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on October 2021 Consumer Price Index Data

Data collection by personal visit for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) program has been suspended almost entirely since March 16, 2020. When possible, data normally collected by personal visit were collected either online or by phone. Additionally, data collection in October was affected by the temporary closing or limited operations of certain types of establishments. These factors resulted in an increase in the number of prices considered temporarily unavailable and imputed.

 While the CPI program attempted to collect as much data as possible, many indexes are based on smaller amounts of collected prices than usual, and a small number of indexes that are normally published were not published this month. Additional information is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/effects-of-covid-19-pandemic-on-consumer-price-index.htm.


Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Baltimore-Columbia-Towson is published bi-monthly. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measures of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 93 percent of the total U.S. population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 29 percent of the total U.S. population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 75 urban areas across the country from about 5,000 housing units and approximately 22,000 retail establishments--department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date; for most of the CPI-U the reference base is 1982-84 equals 100. An increase of 7 percent from the reference base, for example, is shown as 107.000. Alternatively, that relationship can also be expressed as the price of a base period market basket of goods and services rising from $100 to $107. For further details see the CPI home page on the internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the CPI section of the BLS Handbook of Methods available on the internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi/. In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. Note: Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, Core Based Statistical Area includes Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, and Queen Anne’s counties, as well as Baltimore City, in Maryland.

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

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted) (not seasonally adjusted)
Expenditure categoryIndexesPercent change from
Historical
data
Aug.
2021
Sep.
2021
Oct.
2021
Oct.
2020
Aug.
2021
Sep.
2021

All items

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESA0
271.067 277.4156.32.3 

Food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF
282.159 283.6943.10.5 

Food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF1
281.500 283.2893.30.6 

Food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF11
252.477251.539253.8262.90.50.9

Cereals and bakery products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF111
300.653 308.2273.02.5 

Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF112
268.324 274.42513.72.3 

Dairy and related products

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEFJ
248.928 246.7471.4-0.9 

Fruits and vegetables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF113
294.589 291.787-0.5-1.0 

Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF114
170.323 178.533-3.34.8 

Other food at home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF115
228.103 222.609-1.5-2.4 

Food away from home

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEFV
324.413 326.8203.70.7 

Alcoholic beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAF116
288.735 286.410-0.3-0.8 

Housing(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAH
271.311 275.0183.61.4 

Shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAH1
321.563324.401324.7192.71.00.1

Rent of primary residence

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEHA
367.576370.801372.2290.01.30.4

Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEHC
339.912342.651343.1162.40.90.1

Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEHC01
339.912342.651343.1162.40.90.1

Fuels and utilities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAH2
234.130 245.66711.14.9 

Household energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAH21
202.850204.141214.04612.15.54.9

Energy services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEHF
216.991218.416228.46711.05.34.6

Electricity

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEHF01
198.696199.250207.6528.54.54.2

Utility (piped) gas service

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEHF02
217.322222.681236.95224.09.06.4

Household furnishings and operations

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAH3
124.497 126.6516.21.7 

Apparel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAA
124.180 128.22014.93.3 

Transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAT
226.090 245.83824.18.7 

Private transportation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAT1
228.869 252.12426.410.2 

New and used motor vehicles(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESETA
113.141 126.32227.611.7 

New vehicles(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESETA01
206.404 246.15228.619.3 

Used cars and trucks(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESETA02
343.131 340.71127.2-0.7 

Motor fuel

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESETB
265.223265.909284.23643.87.26.9

Gasoline (all types)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESETB01
259.750260.426278.35443.77.26.9

Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESS47014
262.703263.448282.41745.37.57.2

Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESS47015
280.445281.417294.74932.55.14.7

Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESS47016
266.725266.900279.77733.54.94.8

Motor vehicle insurance(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESETE
745.285 752.593-10.81.0 

Medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAM
469.718 470.792-1.80.2 

Recreation

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAR
128.930 131.3162.21.9 

Education and communication(3)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAE
158.999 159.5603.40.4 

Tuition, other school fees, and child care(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESEEB
1,312.470 1,320.5204.10.6 

Other goods and services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAG
457.205 461.3035.90.9 

Commodity and service group

Commodities

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAC
199.588 207.61512.64.0 

Commodities less food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESACL11
161.386 171.23718.86.1 

Nondurables less food and beverages

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESANL11
204.967 211.23815.33.1 

Durables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAD
114.399 124.41321.88.8 

Services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAS
340.663 345.3292.91.4 

Special aggregate indexes

All items less shelter

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESA0L2
252.380 260.1628.43.1 

All items less medical care

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESA0L5
261.192 267.8267.12.5 

Commodities less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESACL1
165.294 174.96518.05.9 

Nondurables

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESAN
240.487 244.4408.21.6 

Nondurables less food

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESANL1
209.634 215.43414.02.8 

Services less rent of shelter(2)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESASL2RS
374.844 381.8863.31.9 

Services less medical care services

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESASL5
327.879 332.7413.61.5 

Energy(1)

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESA0E
237.847238.875253.09827.46.46.0

All items less energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESA0LE
275.503 281.1705.12.1 

All items less food and energy

Go to web page with historical data for series CUURS35ESA0L1E
274.446 280.7145.32.3 

Footnotes
(1) Indexes on a March 1978=100 base.
(2) Indexes on a November 1982=100 base.
(3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
(4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample.
(5) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, November 10, 2021