(AGENPARL) – WASHINGTON gio 16 marzo 2023

Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until                                      USDL-23-0487
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                              U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES - FEBRUARY 2023                              

Prices for U.S. imports edged down 0.1 percent in February, after declining 0.4 percent in January, the U.S. 
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Lower fuel prices in February more than offset higher nonfuel 
prices. U.S. export prices increased 0.2 percent in February following a 0.5-percent advance the previous 
month.

Imports 

The price index for U.S. imports declined 0.1 percent in February. Prices for U.S. imports decreased each 
month since June 2022 with the exception of a 0.1-percent advance in December 2022. U.S. import prices 
declined 1.1 percent from February 2022 to February 2023, the first 12-month decrease since the index fell 
0.3 percent in December 2020 and the largest over-the-year drop since a 1.3-percent decline in September 
2020. (See table 1.)

Fuel Imports: Prices for import fuel fell 4.9 percent for the second consecutive month in February. Those 
are the largest monthly drops since September 2022 and import fuel prices have not risen on a 1-month basis 
since June 2022. Lower natural gas prices in February more than offset higher petroleum prices. Natural gas 
prices decreased 55.6 percent in February following a 10.3-percent advance in January and a 68.4-percent 
increase in December. In contrast, prices for import petroleum rose 1.5 percent in February. Import fuel 
prices declined 11.6 percent over the past year. The price index for import natural gas fell 16.4 percent for 
the year ended in February, and petroleum prices decreased 11.8 percent over the same period.  

All Imports Excluding Fuel: Nonfuel import prices rose 0.4 percent in February following a 0.2-percent 
advance in January. Higher prices in February for consumer goods; foods, feeds, and beverages; capital 
goods; and automotive vehicles more than offset lower nonfuel industrial supplies and materials prices. 
Prices for nonfuel imports advanced 0.2 percent from February 2022 to February 2023. 

Foods, Feeds, and Beverages: The price index for import foods, feeds, and beverages increased 1.3 percent 
in February, after advancing 1.2-percent the previous month. In February, higher fruit prices more than 
offset lower vegetable prices.

Nonfuel Industrial Supplies and Materials: Prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials edged down 
0.1 percent in February following a 0.3-percent drop in January. The February decline was driven by lower 
chemical prices.  

Finished Goods: Import prices increased for each of the major finished goods categories in February. The 
price index for consumer goods increased 0.5 percent in February, led in part by higher prices for medicinal, 
dental, and pharmaceutical materials. The February increase in consumer goods prices was the largest 
monthly advance since December 2021. Capital goods prices rose 0.3 percent for the second consecutive 
month in February and those are the largest 1-month advances since May 2022. Prices for automotive 
vehicles increased 0.2 percent in February, after rising 0.3 percent the previous month. Both monthly 
advances were driven by higher parts prices.

Table A. Percent change in Import and Export Price Indexes, selected categories

Exports 

Prices for U.S. exports advanced 0.2 percent in February, after rising 0.5 percent in January. Those are the 
first monthly increases in export prices since June 2022. Despite the recent advances, U.S. export prices 
declined 0.8 percent over the past 12 months, the first over-the-year decrease since the index fell 1.0 percent 
from November 2019 to November 2020. (See table 2.)

Agricultural Exports: The price index for agricultural exports rose 1.0 percent in February following 
declines of 0.9 percent in January and 2.4 percent in December. Higher prices in February for vegetables, 
soybeans, and corn more than offset declining meat prices. Agricultural export prices increased 3.3 percent 
over the past year, the smallest 12-month advance since October 2020.

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: Nonagricultural export prices ticked up 0.1 percent in February, after 
rising 0.6 percent the previous month. Higher prices for capital goods and consumer goods more than offset 
lower prices for nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials, automotive vehicles, and nonagricultural 
foods. Prices for nonagricultural exports declined 1.5 percent for the year ended in February, the first 12-
month drop since the index edged down 0.1 percent in December 2020 and the largest over-the-year 
decrease since a 1.6-percent decline in November 2020. 

Nonagricultural Industrial Supplies and Materials: Prices for nonagricultural industrial supplies and 
materials fell 0.5 percent in February following a 0.3-percent increase the previous month. The February 
decline was led by a 2.2-percent decrease in export fuel prices.

Finished Goods: Export prices for the major finished goods categories were mostly up in February. Capital 
goods prices rose 0.6 percent, after advancing 0.8 percent in January. The February advance was driven by 
higher prices for semiconductors; transportation equipment excluding motor vehicles; and industrial and 
service machinery. Prices for export consumer goods rose 0.7 percent in February following a 1.1-percent 
increase the previous month. Higher prices for medicinal, dental, and pharmaceutical materials contributed 
to the advance. The price index for automotive vehicles edged down 0.1 percent in February, after a 1.6-
percent increase in January.

More information for the major import and export price indexes can be found at 
www.bls.gov/web/ximpim/largest.htm.

Measures of Import and Export Prices by Locality

Imports by Locality of Origin: Prices for imports from China were unchanged in February, after falling 
0.5 percent the previous month. Import prices from China have not recorded a monthly advance since 
October 2022. Prices for imports from China declined 0.4 percent over the past 12 months, the largest over-
the-year decrease since July 2020. Import prices from Japan fell 0.5 percent in February following a 0.2-
percent rise the previous month. The February decline was the first monthly decrease since November 2022 
and the largest decline since June 2015. Despite the February drop, prices for imports from Japan rose 1.4 
percent over the past year. The price index for imports from Canada declined 4.4 percent in February, the 
largest 1-month drop since July 2022. Prices for imports from Canada decreased 10.3 percent over the past 
year, the largest 12-month decline since June 2020. In contrast, import prices from the European Union and 
Mexico both rose 0.4 percent in February. (See table 7.)
	
Exports by Locality of Destination: Export prices to China rose 1.2 percent in February following a 0.8-
percent advance in January. The February increase was the largest monthly rise since June 2022. Despite the 
recent advances, prices for exports to China fell 3.6 percent over the past year. The price index for exports 
to Japan increased 3.3 percent in February, the largest 1-month advance since March 2022. Export prices to 
Japan also rose for the year ended in February, increasing 0.6 percent. Prices for exports to Canada 
advanced 0.5 percent in February, after declining 0.5 percent the previous month. In contrast, export prices 
to the European Union fell 0.6 percent in February and prices for exports to Mexico decreased 0.8 percent. 
(See table 8.)

Terms of Trade Indexes: Terms of trade indexes are based on country, region, or grouping and measure 
the change in the purchasing power of exports relative to imports. U.S. terms of trade with China advanced 
1.2 percent for the second consecutive month in February. Despite the recent increases, U.S. terms of trade 
with China fell 3.2 percent over the past year. The index for U.S. terms of trade with Japan rose 3.8 percent 
in February, after declining 0.5 percent the previous month. In February, both higher export prices to Japan 
and lower import prices from Japan contributed to the advance. U.S. terms of trade with Japan fell 0.9 
percent for the year ended in February. U.S. terms of trade with Canada increased 5.1 percent in February 
and 14.7 percent over the past 12 months. The indexes for U.S. terms of trade with the European Union and 
Mexico fell in February, declining 1.0 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively. (See table 9.)

Import and Export Services

Imports: Import air passenger fares advanced 2.1 percent in February following a 12.4-percent drop the 
previous month. Higher Latin American/Caribbean fares in February more than offset lower European and 
Asian fares. The index for import air passenger fares rose 18.6 percent for the year ended in February. 
Import air freight prices decreased 4.7 percent in February, after declining 11.8 percent in January. The 
February drop was driven by a 7.3-percent decrease in Asian air freight prices. Prices for import air freight 
fell 31.6 percent from February 2022 to February 2023. (See table 10.)

Exports: Export air passenger fares declined 13.7 percent in February following a 12.4-percent increase in 
January. The February drop in export air passenger fares was the largest monthly decrease since the 1-
month percent change series was first published in January 2001. Lower Latin American/Caribbean, Asian, 
and European fares in February all contributed to the decline. Despite the February decrease, export air 
passenger fares rose 9.2 percent over the past year. Export air freight prices advanced 3.5 percent in 
February, the largest monthly increase since March 2022. Prices for export air freight rose 3.8 percent over 
the past 12 months. 
		
U.S. Import and Export Price Index data for March 2023 are scheduled for release on Friday, April 
14, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

                                                TECHNICAL NOTE                                                

Import and Export Goods and Services Price Indexes - All indexes use a modified Laspeyres 
formula and are not seasonally adjusted. Price indexes are reweighted annually, with a 2-year lag in the 
weights. Published series use a base year of 2000=100 where possible. More detailed index series and 
additional information may be obtained at www.bls.gov/mxp or by calling (202) 691-7101.

Merchandise Goods Classification Systems - The merchandise price indexes are published using three 
classification systems. Items are classified by end use according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis 
Classification System, by industry according to the North American Industry Classification System 
(NAICS), and by product category according to the Harmonized System (HS). While classification by 
end use and product category are self-explanatory, some notes are in order for classifying items by 
industry. In the NAICS imports and exports tables, items are classified by output industry, not input 
industry. As an example, NAICS import index 326 (plastics and rubber products manufacturing) 
includes outputs such as manufactured plastic rather than inputs such as petroleum. The NAICS 
classification structure also matches the classification system used by the Producer Price Index (PPI) to 
produce the NAICS primary products indexes.

Import Price Goods Indexes - Items are classified by the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States Annotated (TSUSA). Import prices are based on U.S. dollar prices paid by the U.S. importer. The 
prices are generally either "free on board" (f.o.b.) foreign port or "cost, insurance, and freight" (c.i.f.) 
U.S. port transaction prices, depending on the practices of the individual industry. The index for crude 
petroleum is calculated from data collected by the U.S. Department of Energy.  

Export Price Goods Indexes - Items are classified by the Harmonized Schedule B classification system 
of the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The prices used are generally either "free alongside ship" (f.a.s.) 
factory or "free on board" (f.o.b.) transaction prices, depending on the practices of the individual 
industry. Prices used in the grain index, excluding rice, are obtained from the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture.

Services Price Indexes - Indexes for import and export air passenger fares calculate changes in the 
average revenue received per passenger by foreign carriers from U.S. residents and by U.S. carriers from 
foreign residents, respectively. Data are obtained from an airline consulting service and report on tickets 
sold by travel agencies, travel websites, and directly by the airlines. Taxes and fees are included in both 
the import and export air passenger fares indexes. Import air passenger fares data have used the airline 
consulting service source since September 2008. Before April 2018, the export air passenger fares data 
were collected directly by BLS from U.S. airlines. The air freight indexes are calculated from data 
collected directly from airlines. These data exclude mail and passenger baggage. The scope of the 
service being priced is the movement of freight from airport to airport only, and does not include any 
ground transportation or port service. The air freight indexes are presented using two definitions: 
balance of payments (which represents transactions between U.S. and foreign residents) and 
international (which represents transactions inbound to and outbound from the United States.) Fact 
sheets specifying detailed information for each services industry are available at www.bls.gov/mxp 
under "MXP Publications."

Import Price Indexes by Locality of Origin - Prices used in these indexes are a subset of the data 
collected for the import price indexes. The indexes are specific to a country, region, or grouping and, 
beginning with January 2002, are based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 
covering goods-producing industries. Nonmanufactured goods are defined as NAICS 11 and 21, and 
manufactured goods are defined as NAICS 31-33. 

Export Price Indexes by Locality of Destination - Prices used in these indexes are a subset of the data 
collected for the export price indexes. The indexes are specific to a country, region, or grouping and are 
based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) covering goods-producing 
industries. Nonmanufactured goods are defined as NAICS 11 and 21, and manufactured goods are 
defined as NAICS 31-33. 

Terms of Trade Indexes - Terms of trade indexes measure the relative price of exports in terms of 
import prices for a specific country, region, or grouping. The indexes are calculated as one country, 
region, or grouping's all-export goods price index divided by the corresponding all-import goods price 
index on a scale of 100. 
   
Relative Importance - A relative importance is a specific index's price-updated value share (expressed 
as a percentage) of overall imports or exports at a specific point in time. Relative importance values are 
affected by the trade weights at the point indexes are reweighted and index changes relative to other 
indexes since the reweight point. If an index is rising in value relative to other indexes over time, the 
relative importance will increase as well. 
 
Revision Policy - To reflect the availability of late reports and corrections by respondents, monthly data 
may be revised in each of the 3 months after original publication. After 3 months, no further data 
revisions take place. For example, data first published in the January release will be subject to revision 
in the releases for February, March, and April.

Rounding Policy - Index values are rounded to the tenth decimal place after being calculated. All 
percent changes are then derived from the rounded index values and subsequently rounded to the tenth 
decimal place.

Uses of the Data - The primary use of the indexes is to deflate trade statistics, notably the foreign trade 
sector of the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA) constructed by the Department of 
Commerce. Other published indexes are useful for general market analysis. For trade in international 
services, balance of payments indexes are used for deflating NIPA, while international indexes are more 
appropriate for market analysis. 

Email Subscription - The U.S. import and export price indexes news release is available through an 
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Additional Information - More detailed data are available on the Import/Export Price Indexes home 
page at www.bls.gov/mxp. For import and export price indexes data requests, send an email to 
   

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Fonte/Source: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ximpim_03162023.htm