Prices in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 1.9 percent for the two months ending in August 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Bryan Droste noted that the August increase was influenced by higher prices for shelter, motor vehicle insurance, and medical care. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 1.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) The index for all items less food and energy increased 2.8 percent over the year. Food prices rose 2.6 percent. Energy prices fell 10.3 percent, largely the result of a decrease in the price of gasoline. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices advanced 1.3 percent for the two months ending in August. Prices for food at home (groceries) decreased 0.4 percent, and prices for food away from home (restaurant, cafeteria, and vending purchases) advanced 3.7 percent for the same period.

Over the year, food prices rose 2.6 percent. Prices for food at home increased 5.7 percent since a year ago, and prices for food away from home declined 1.1 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 2.2 percent for the two months ending in August. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (5.3 percent). Prices for utility (piped) gas service rose 0.2 percent, while prices for electricity edged down 0.1 percent for the same period.

Energy prices fell 10.3 percent over the year, largely due to lower prices for gasoline (-21.2 percent). Prices paid for electricity advanced 1.8 percent, while prices for utility (piped) gas service decreased 2.1 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.0 percent in the latest two-month period. Higher prices for motor vehicle insurance (11.8 percent) and shelter (1.3 percent) were contributing factors.

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 2.8 percent. Components contributing to the increase included shelter (2.1 percent), motor vehicle insurance (16.0 percent), and medical care (6.0 percent). Partly offsetting the increases were price decreases in apparel (-7.8 percent).

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

Month	2016		2017		2018		2019		2020
	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month	2-month	12-month
February	0.3	0.9	0.9	3.0	0.3	2.1	0.4	1.2	0.5	2.6
April	1.4	1.1	0.7	2.3	0.9	2.3	0.6	1.0	-2.7	-0.8
June	1.2	2.3	0.0	1.1	1.3	3.6	0.4	0.1	1.7	0.5
August	-0.1	1.7	0.1	1.3	-0.6	2.8	0.6	1.4	1.9	1.8
October	0.2	1.7	0.9	2.0	0.0	1.9	1.0	2.4
December	-0.6	2.4	0.1	2.7	-0.6	1.2	-0.6	2.5

The October 2020 Consumer Price Index for Detroit is scheduled to be released on Thursday, November 12, 2020.

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 93 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 29 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 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 (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-Warren-Dearborn, MI, Core Based Statistical Area covered in this release is comprised of Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, 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-Warren-Dearborn, MI (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Jun. 2020	Jul. 2020	Aug. 2020	Aug. 2019	Jun. 2020	Jul. 2020
Expenditure category
All items	236.118	-	240.598	1.8	1.9	-
All items (1967=100)	701.841	-	715.157	-	-	-
Food and beverages	228.296	-	231.162	2.3	1.3	-
Food	227.505	-	230.575	2.6	1.3	-
Food at home	221.142	218.875	220.173	5.7	-0.4	0.6
Cereals and bakery products	255.452	-	267.911	-0.2	4.9	-
Meats, poultry, fish and eggs	259.770	-	238.648	9.2	-8.1	-
Dairy and related products	163.795	-	167.011	3.7	2.0	-
Fruits and vegetables	228.155	-	226.223	0.5	-0.8	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	206.811	-	208.588	5.0	0.9	-
Other food at home	199.400	-	205.163	10.3	2.9	-
Food away from home	239.111	-	247.971	-1.1	3.7	-
Alcoholic beverages	232.414	-	232.839	-1.7	0.2	-
Housing	226.698	-	229.436	2.1	1.2	-
Shelter	260.348	262.399	263.704	2.1	1.3	0.5
Rent of primary residence(2)	272.342	273.917	274.291	3.2	0.7	0.1
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(2)(3)	261.555	263.125	264.490	2.8	1.1	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(2)(3)	261.555	263.125	264.490	2.8	1.1	0.5
Fuels and utilities	262.310	-	263.200	1.0	0.3	-
Household energy	203.281	202.798	203.368	0.4	0.0	0.3
Energy services(2)	205.333	204.818	205.394	0.3	0.0	0.3
Electricity(2)	254.184	254.103	253.963	1.8	-0.1	-0.1
Utility (piped) gas service(2)	142.681	141.794	143.006	-2.1	0.2	0.9
Household furnishings and operations	119.966	-	121.766	2.9	1.5	-
Apparel	101.200	-	107.720	-7.8	6.4	-
Transportation	240.338	-	250.572	0.1	4.3	-
Private transportation	243.456	-	254.946	0.8	4.7	-
New and used motor vehicles(4)	-	-	-	-	-	-
New vehicles(1)	-	-	-	-	-	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	283.596	-	310.732	3.7	9.6	-
Motor fuel	187.253	199.703	196.955	-21.1	5.2	-1.4
Gasoline (all types)	186.093	198.604	195.885	-21.2	5.3	-1.4
Gasoline, unleaded regular(5)	186.258	198.974	196.126	-21.5	5.3	-1.4
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(5)(6)	225.849	240.512	235.888	-19.8	4.4	-1.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium(5)	202.527	213.811	213.292	-17.9	5.3	-0.2
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	1,928.896	-	2,156.045	16.0	11.8	-
Medical care	471.475	-	472.534	6.0	0.2	-
Recreation(4)	112.582	-	111.719	-1.2	-0.8	-
Education and communication(4)	144.414	-	148.146	2.6	2.6	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,328.968	-	1,329.407	1.2	0.0	-
Other goods and services	445.965	-	451.173	3.4	1.2	-
Commodity and service group
All items	236.118	-	240.598	1.8	1.9	-
Commodities	172.578	-	176.617	-1.0	2.3	-
Commodities less food and beverages	144.447	-	148.799	-3.1	3.0	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	168.971	-	174.642	-7.9	3.4	-
Durables	-	-	-	-	-	-
Services	300.771	-	305.671	3.5	1.6	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	226.455	-	231.102	1.4	2.1	-
All items less shelter	229.701	-	234.643	1.6	2.2	-
Commodities less food	147.582	-	151.830	-3.1	2.9	-
Nondurables	198.308	-	202.593	-2.6	2.2	-
Nondurables less food	173.205	-	178.490	-7.4	3.1	-
Services less rent of shelter(3)	359.266	-	366.151	4.6	1.9	-
Services less medical care services	289.059	-	294.273	2.9	1.8	-
Energy	200.151	205.424	204.526	-10.3	2.2	-0.4
All items less energy	242.294	-	246.846	2.8	1.9	-
All items less food and energy	245.587	-	250.414	2.8	2.0	-
Footnotes (1) Index on a December 1977=100 base. (2) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (3) Index on a December 1982=100 base. (4) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (5) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (6) Index on a December 1993=100 base.
- Data not available. Note: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date. Data not seasonally adjusted.