The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the South increased 1.4 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The energy index rose sharply over the month, up 11.2 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.5 percent over the month, while the food index increased 1.1 percent. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

The all items CPI-U for the South advanced 9.1 percent for the 12 months ending in March, after increasing 8.4-percent over the 12-month period ending in February. The index for all items less food and energy advanced 7.1 percent over the past year. The energy index and the food index also increased over the past 12 months, up 31.4 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Food

The food index increased 1.1 percent in March, led by a 1.5 percent increase in the food at home index. The food away from home index also rose in March, up 0.4 percent.

The food index advanced 8.6 percent for the 12 months ending in March, reflecting increases in the food at home (+9.3 percent) and food away from home (+7.5 percent) indexes.

Energy

The energy index rose 11.2 percent in March, reflecting a 20.4-percent spike in the gasoline index. The electricity index was little changed over the month, up 0.1 percent, while the utility (piped) gas service index rose 0.6 percent.

The energy index advanced 31.4 percent for the 12 months ending in March, led by a 49.4-percent increase in the gasoline index. The electricity and the utility (piped) gas service indexes also increased over the year, up 10.1 percent and 18.4 percent, respectively.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.5 percent in March. The shelter index (+0.7 percent) was a major contributor to this increase.  

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 7.1 percent for the 12 months ending in March, reflecting increases across many indexes. The new and used motor vehicles index advanced 22.0 percent over the past 12 months, led by a 35.4-percent increase in the used cars and trucks index; the new vehicles index increased 12.4 percent over the past year. Shelter (+5.8 percent) was also among the indexes to increase over the past 12 months.

Geographic divisions

Additional price indexes are now available for the three divisions of the South. The all items CPI-U advanced 1.7 percent in the West South Central division and 1.5 percent in the East South Central division in March. The all items index also increased in the South Atlantic division, up 1.3 percent over the month.

Over the year, the all items index advanced 9.5 percent in the West South Central division and 9.2 percent in the South Atlantic division. The all items index rose 7.9 percent in the East South Central division over the past year.

Table A. South region CPI-U 1-month and 12-month percent changes, all items index, not seasonally adjusted

Month	2018		2019		2020		2021		2022
	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month	1-month	12-month
January	0.5	1.8	0.2	1.2	0.3	2.3	0.5	1.6	0.9	7.8
February	0.6	2.1	0.5	1.1	0.2	1.9	0.5	2.0	1.1	8.4
March	0.2	2.3	0.7	1.6	-0.1	1.1	0.8	2.9	1.4	9.1
April	0.4	2.4	0.5	1.8	-0.8	-0.2	0.7	4.4
May	0.3	2.7	-0.1	1.4	-0.2	-0.4	0.8	5.6
June	0.2	2.7	-0.1	1.1	0.6	0.3	0.9	5.8
July	0.0	2.9	0.3	1.4	0.6	0.6	0.5	5.8
August	-0.1	2.4	-0.1	1.4	0.4	1.1	0.3	5.6
September	0.0	1.7	0.0	1.3	0.2	1.3	0.3	5.8
October	0.2	2.1	0.2	1.3	0.1	1.3	1.0	6.6
November	-0.3	1.9	0.0	1.6	-0.1	1.2	0.4	7.2
December	-0.5	1.5	0.0	2.1	0.2	1.4	0.3	7.4

The Consumer Price Index for April 2022 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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 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 6,000 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 South region is comprised of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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
South (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Jan. 2022	Feb. 2022	Mar. 2022	Mar. 2021	Jan. 2022	Feb. 2022
Expenditure category
All Items	271.634	274.688	278.598	9.1	2.6	1.4
All items (December 1977=100)	440.628	445.582	451.925	-	-	-
Food and beverages	283.186	286.289	289.302	8.3	2.2	1.1
Food	285.677	288.729	291.883	8.6	2.2	1.1
Food at home	267.580	271.047	275.222	9.3	2.9	1.5
Cereal and bakery products	308.536	312.551	318.757	9.0	3.3	2.0
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	291.564	294.166	297.929	13.6	2.2	1.3
Dairy and related products	237.784	240.727	244.669	6.8	2.9	1.6
Fruits and vegetables	310.452	314.731	320.082	6.7	3.1	1.7
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials	183.109	187.271	189.062	6.8	3.3	1.0
Other food at home	233.484	236.255	240.239	9.1	2.9	1.7
Food away from home	315.411	317.675	318.933	7.5	1.1	0.4
Alcoholic beverages	248.588	252.384	253.443	3.6	2.0	0.4
Housing	266.698	268.728	270.537	6.7	1.4	0.7
Shelter	306.765	308.941	311.085	5.8	1.4	0.7
Rent of primary residence	323.126	325.362	327.124	5.7	1.2	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)	309.135	310.623	312.040	5.0	0.9	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)	309.133	310.618	312.034	5.0	0.9	0.5
Fuels and utilities	264.929	267.286	267.919	9.6	1.1	0.2
Household energy	214.149	216.495	217.196	11.8	1.4	0.3
Energy services	213.644	215.760	216.103	11.2	1.2	0.2
Electricity	207.880	209.768	209.956	10.1	1.0	0.1
Utility (piped) gas service	234.427	237.872	239.200	18.4	2.0	0.6
Household furnishings and operations	138.434	139.782	141.153	10.4	2.0	1.0
Apparel	133.194	136.479	136.594	7.2	2.6	0.1
Transportation	250.055	256.401	268.755	23.8	7.5	4.8
Private transportation	253.318	259.523	271.780	24.3	7.3	4.7
New and used motor vehicles(2)	130.126	130.720	130.501	22.0	0.3	-0.2
New vehicles	173.659	174.304	175.662	12.4	1.2	0.8
New cars and trucks(2)(3)	118.301	118.743	119.700	12.5	1.2	0.8
New cars(3)	172.250	173.253	174.209	12.6	1.1	0.6
Used cars and trucks	211.458	213.031	209.376	35.4	-1.0	-1.7
Motor fuel	272.027	292.312	352.110	49.6	29.4	20.5
Gasoline (all types)	270.540	290.641	349.852	49.4	29.3	20.4
Unleaded regular(3)	264.462	284.703	343.529	50.2	29.9	20.7
Unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	300.743	319.902	380.888	46.7	26.6	19.1
Unleaded premium(3)	292.511	309.071	364.950	42.5	24.8	18.1
Medical care	507.582	509.264	512.534	3.1	1.0	0.6
Medical care commodities	359.089	358.358	359.712	2.9	0.2	0.4
Medical care services	557.824	560.353	564.287	3.2	1.2	0.7
Professional services	386.678	387.294	389.751	1.7	0.8	0.6
Recreation(2)	127.253	129.388	128.704	3.8	1.1	-0.5
Education and communication(2)	139.695	138.857	138.955	2.3	-0.5	0.1
Tuition, other school fees, and child care(5)	1,399.395	1,402.142	1,400.967	2.8	0.1	-0.1
Other goods and services	471.803	476.452	477.312	5.5	1.2	0.2
Commodity and service group
All Items	271.634	274.688	278.598	9.1	2.6	1.4
Commodities	209.741	212.992	218.696	14.7	4.3	2.7
Commodities less food and beverages	174.529	177.654	183.927	18.6	5.4	3.5
Nondurables less food and beverages	217.672	225.069	242.159	19.8	11.2	7.6
Nondurables less food, beverages, and apparel	268.849	278.603	304.866	23.1	13.4	9.4
Durables	130.946	131.470	131.359	18.0	0.3	-0.1
Services	333.497	336.301	338.263	5.5	1.4	0.6
Rent of shelter(1)	315.534	317.792	320.038	5.8	1.4	0.7
Transportation services	369.038	377.457	384.347	8.7	4.1	1.8
Other services	368.469	371.482	370.325	3.0	0.5	-0.3
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	258.687	261.798	265.725	9.7	2.7	1.5
All items less food	269.204	272.253	276.264	9.2	2.6	1.5
All items less shelter	259.073	262.488	267.114	10.7	3.1	1.8
Commodities less food	176.920	180.072	186.262	18.1	5.3	3.4
Nondurables	248.621	254.019	264.550	13.6	6.4	4.1
Nondurables less food	219.088	226.275	242.454	18.7	10.7	7.2
Nondurables less food and apparel	265.683	274.891	298.928	21.5	12.5	8.7
Services less rent of shelter(1)	366.605	370.192	371.853	5.2	1.4	0.4
Services less medical care services	313.350	316.153	317.946	5.9	1.5	0.6
Energy	236.305	246.813	274.544	31.4	16.2	11.2
All items less energy	276.750	279.073	280.614	7.3	1.4	0.6
All items less food and energy	275.665	277.875	279.164	7.1	1.3	0.5
Commodities less food and energy commodities	165.752	166.959	167.121	12.4	0.8	0.1
Energy commodities	276.893	297.413	357.393	49.4	29.1	20.2
Services less energy services	346.209	349.087	351.220	5.2	1.4	0.6
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1977=100 base.
- Data not available. Regions defined as the four Census regions. South includes Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.