The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint area decreased 1.2 percent from October to December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that the energy index decreased 12.0 percent while the food index edged down 0.1 percent over the bi-monthly period. The index for all items less food and energy decreased 0.2 percent from October to December. Among the indexes within the all items less food and energy category, prices were lower for apparel. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Over the past 12 months, the Detroit all items CPI-U edged down 0.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The energy index decreased 14.5 percent over the year due to declines in gasoline prices and utility (piped) gas service costs. The index for all items less food and energy rose 1.7 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices edged down 0.1 percent from October to December following a 0.6 percent increase over the previous bi-monthly period. Of the two components within the food index, prices for food at home (groceries) rose 0.7 percent and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) decreased 1.2 percent.

On an annual basis, food prices in the Detroit area fell 0.6 percent. Prices for food away from home edged down 0.1 percent while grocery prices declined 0.9 percent over the year.

Energy

The energy index for Detroit fell 12.0 percent from October to December. Prices declined for gasoline (-24.6 percent), electricity (-1.1 percent), and utility (piped) gas service (-0.4 percent).

From December 2014 to December 2015, overall energy prices decreased 14.5 percent. Gasoline prices fell 25.8 percent and utility (piped) gas service costs were 16.0 percent lower. In contrast, electricity costs rose 5.5 percent over the year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy decreased 0.2 percent from October to December. Among the index’s components, prices were 9.7 percent lower for apparel.  

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.7 percent. Among the index’s components, shelter (1.9 percent), medical care (1.9 percent), and education and communication (1.6 percent) recorded annual increases. In contrast, the index for household furnishings and operations was 1.5 percent lower compared to a year ago.

Table A. Detroit CPI-U 2-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2011		2012		2013		2014		2015
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.2	1.7	0.6	3.9	1.1	1.9	1.1	0.7	-0.7	-1.8
April	2.3	3.1	0.6	2.1	0.0	1.3	1.3	2.0	1.2	-1.9
June	0.9	4.2	-0.8	0.4	1.2	3.3	0.5	1.3	0.0	-2.4
August	0.2	4.1	1.2	1.5	-0.7	1.3	-1.0	1.0	0.6	-0.9
October	-0.5	3.5	0.5	2.4	-0.1	0.7	-0.1	1.0	0.1	-0.7
December	0.3	3.5	-0.7	1.4	-0.7	0.8	-1.8	-0.1	-1.2	-0.1

The February 2016 Consumer Price Index for Detroit is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 16, 2016.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure 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 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 28 percent of the total 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 87 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 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 (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/pdf/homch17.pdf.

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 Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, Mich. consolidated area covered in this release is comprised of Genesee, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties in Michigan.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals 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
Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Oct. 2015	Nov. 2015	Dec. 2015	Dec. 2014	Oct. 2015	Nov. 2015
Expenditure category
All items	220.506	-	217.764	-0.1	-1.2	-
All items (1967=100)	655.435	-	647.286	-	-	-
Food and beverages	221.154	-	221.047	-0.3	0.0	-
Food	220.863	-	220.721	-0.6	-0.1	-
Food at home	210.805	210.371	212.315	-0.9	0.7	0.9
Food away from home	236.714	-	233.846	-0.1	-1.2	-
Alcoholic beverages	218.894	-	219.258	3.6	0.2	-
Housing	201.695	-	202.069	0.9	0.2	-
Shelter	228.067	228.741	228.225	1.9	0.1	-0.2
Rent of primary residence (1)	233.979	235.015	235.554	3.2	0.7	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of residences (1) (2)	225.346	226.237	226.603	1.8	0.6	0.2
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence (1) (2)	225.346	226.237	226.603	1.8	0.6	0.2
Fuels and utilities	238.922	-	239.769	-2.7	0.4	-
Household energy	188.019	186.472	186.509	-4.5	-0.8	0.0
Energy services (1)	191.286	189.708	189.773	-3.9	-0.8	0.0
Electricity (1)	222.378	218.476	220.038	5.5	-1.1	0.7
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	146.249	147.248	145.712	-16.0	-0.4	-1.0
Household furnishings and operations	115.860	-	116.849	-1.5	0.9	-
Apparel	122.713	-	110.820	2.4	-9.7	-
Transportation	231.377	-	217.477	-5.4	-6.0	-
Private transportation	230.469	-	215.591	-5.7	-6.5	-
Motor fuel	220.032	204.488	166.120	-25.8	-24.5	-18.8
Gasoline (all types)	218.651	203.069	164.856	-25.8	-24.6	-18.8
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	220.798	204.108	164.388	-27.4	-25.5	-19.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	255.676	241.138	200.052	-21.2	-21.8	-17.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	226.353	214.716	182.028	-16.7	-19.6	-15.2
Medical care	405.702	-	405.519	1.9	0.0	-
Recreation (5)	112.060	-	112.906	1.6	0.8	-
Education and communication (5)	146.236	-	146.467	1.6	0.2	-
Other goods and services	400.893	-	397.535	1.3	-0.8	-
Commodity and service group
All items	220.506	-	217.764	-0.1	-1.2	-
Commodities	174.614	-	168.077	-3.1	-3.7	-
Commodities less food & beverages	150.633	-	141.108	-5.1	-6.3	-
Nondurables less food & beverages	179.717	-	161.547	-8.4	-10.1	-
Durables	115.623	-	114.878	-0.2	-0.6	-
Services	267.835	-	268.717	1.7	0.3	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	213.097	-	210.225	-0.3	-1.3	-
All items less shelter	220.588	-	216.569	-1.0	-1.8	-
Commodities less food	153.131	-	143.912	-4.7	-6.0	-
Nondurables	200.206	-	190.798	-4.0	-4.7	-
Nondurables less food	182.155	-	165.151	-7.5	-9.3	-
Services less rent of shelter (2)	324.142	-	326.019	1.6	0.6	-
Services less medical care services	258.491	-	259.402	1.8	0.4	-
Energy	206.491	198.679	181.623	-14.5	-12.0	-8.6
All items less energy	224.541	-	224.123	1.3	-0.2	-
All items less food and energy	225.775	-	225.301	1.7	-0.2	-
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Index is on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
- Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.