Prices in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.3 percent for the two months ending in September 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that the bi-monthly increase was primarily influenced by a 0.5-percent advance in the all items less food and energy index, but higher prices in the energy index also contributed. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, bi-monthly changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 0.4 percent. (See chart 1.) During the 12-month period ending in September 2020, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.0 percent and food prices rose 1.5 percent. Energy prices countered a large share of these increases, declining 9.3 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices decreased 0.5 percent for the two months ending in September, the first bi-monthly decrease in nearly two years. The latest movement was the result of a 1.4-percent decrease in the food at home index, as prices for food away from home advanced 0.6 percent.

During the 12 months ending in September 2020, food prices rose 1.5 percent, reflecting the combined effects of a 2.0-percent increase in prices for food away from home and a 1.1-percent rise in prices for food at home.

Energy

The energy index rose 0.2 percent for the two months ending in September, after surging 13.7 percent in the previous bi-monthly period. The increase during the latest period was the result of higher prices for natural gas service (9.6 percent), as smaller declines in gasoline (-0.7 percent) and electricity (-0.6 percent) largely countered the increase in natural gas prices.

Over the year, the energy index fell 9.3 percent, due to a 19.4-percent drop in gasoline prices. Counteracting some of this decrease, prices paid for natural gas service increased 10.2 percent, while prices for electricity edged up 0.1 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy advanced 0.5 percent in August and September, after rising 0.9 percent in June and July. The latest increase was particularly fueled by higher prices for used cars and trucks (8.0 percent), recreation (3.1 percent), and apparel (4.7 percent). These increases were partially offset by lower prices for motor vehicle insurance (-11.1 percent) and alcoholic beverages (-4.7 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 1.0 percent. Components making large contributions to the increase included shelter (2.3 percent), medical care (4.4 percent), and used cars and trucks (10.5 percent). Partly offsetting these increases were price declines in motor vehicle insurance (-12.2 percent) and apparel (-6.2 percent).

The November 2020 Consumer Price Index for All Items for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is scheduled to be released Thursday, December 10, 2020.

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index for Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is published bi-monthly. 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 approximately 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas, Core Based Statistical Area includes the counties of Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise.

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,
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from -
	Jul. 2020	Aug. 2020	Sep. 2020	Sep. 2019	Jul. 2020	Aug. 2020
All items	239.888	-	240.658	0.4	0.3	-
All items (1967 = 100)	752.514	-	754.930
Food and beverages	264.429	-	262.249	1.3	-0.8	-
Food	258.025	-	256.831	1.5	-0.5	-
Food at home	216.626	215.360	213.535	1.1	-1.4	-0.8
Cereals and bakery products	257.601	-	258.480	-1.1	0.3	-
Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs	249.259	-	242.312	2.7	-2.8	-
Dairy and related products	193.101	-	200.221	2.6	3.7	-
Fruits and vegetables	193.063	-	181.876	-6.2	-5.8	-
Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials(1)	195.731	-	192.626	5.1	-1.6	-
Other food at home	204.821	-	205.682	3.2	0.4	-
Food away from home	320.262	-	322.086	2.0	0.6	-
Alcoholic beverages	350.066	-	333.711	0.8	-4.7	-
Housing	238.954	-	239.168	2.4	0.1	-
Shelter	267.427	266.733	267.555	2.3	0.0	0.3
Rent of primary residence	288.312	287.399	288.439	3.6	0.0	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of residences(2)	289.356	288.329	289.303	2.9	0.0	0.3
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence(2)	289.356	288.329	289.303	2.9	0.0	0.3
Fuels and utilities	251.052	-	252.456	2.6	0.6	-
Household energy	220.338	220.399	222.130	1.4	0.8	0.8
Energy services	216.821	216.839	218.644	1.5	0.8	0.8
Electricity	208.132	207.619	206.879	0.1	-0.6	-0.4
Utility (piped) gas service	200.827	203.952	220.117	10.2	9.6	7.9
Household furnishings and operations	123.482	-	123.390	2.7	-0.1	-
Apparel	103.892	-	108.744	-6.2	4.7	-
Transportation	193.122	-	191.911	-7.7	-0.6	-
Private transportation	197.597	-	197.046	-6.7	-0.3	-
New and used motor vehicles(3)	102.695	-	105.526	-1.9	2.8	-
New vehicles(1)	187.704	-	189.418	-7.9	0.9	-
Used cars and trucks(1)	331.430	-	358.036	10.5	8.0	-
Motor fuel	182.441	179.246	181.241	-19.5	-0.7	1.1
Gasoline (all types)	181.398	178.198	180.195	-19.4	-0.7	1.1
Gasoline, unleaded regular(4)	173.007	170.014	171.888	-19.8	-0.6	1.1
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(4)(5)	198.824	195.260	198.189	-17.7	-0.3	1.5
Gasoline, unleaded premium(4)	207.627	203.331	205.753	-16.2	-0.9	1.2
Motor vehicle insurance(1)	757.045	-	673.169	-12.2	-11.1	-
Medical care	477.748	-	477.055	4.4	-0.1	-
Recreation(3)	123.451	-	127.317	1.1	3.1	-
Education and communication(3)	132.180	-	133.830	1.1	1.2	-
Tuition, other school fees, and childcare(1)	1,258.637	-	1,263.476	-1.8	0.4	-
Other goods and services	425.268	-	441.001	4.4	3.7	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	172.693	-	173.663	-2.3	0.6	-
Commodities less food and beverages	133.391	-	135.314	-4.4	1.4	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	164.151	-	165.966	-6.8	1.1	-
Durables	106.959	-	108.915	-1.5	1.8	-
Services	305.333	-	305.909	1.9	0.2	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less shelter	227.627	-	228.708	-0.7	0.5	-
All items less medical care	228.439	-	229.269	0.0	0.4	-
Commodities less food	138.614	-	140.174	-4.3	1.1	-
Nondurables	209.230	-	209.354	-2.7	0.1	-
Nondurables less food	172.574	-	173.560	-6.4	0.6	-
Services less rent of shelter(2)	355.571	-	356.856	1.3	0.4	-
Services less medical care services	287.172	-	287.906	1.4	0.3	-
Energy	202.353	200.796	202.664	-9.3	0.2	0.9
All items less energy	247.299	-	248.120	1.1	0.3	-
All items less food and energy	245.349	-	246.465	1.0	0.5	-
Footnotes (1) Indexes on a February 1978=100 base. (2) Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. (4) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (5) Index on a December 1993=100.
- Data not available.