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IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

 

U.S. IMPORT AND EXPORT PRICE INDEXES - DECEMBER 2011 [13 January 2012]

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ximpim.nr0.htm

or

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ximpim.pdf

[full-text, 16 pages]

and

Supplemental Files Table of Contents

http://www.bls.gov/web/ximpim.supp.toc.htm

 

 

U.S. import prices edged down 0.1 percent in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported

today, after rising 0.8 percent the previous month. In December, declining prices for fuels more than offset a

0.1 percent rise in nonfuel prices. Export prices also decreased in December, falling 0.5 percent following a

0.1 percent advance in November.

 

 

Imports

          

All Imports: Import prices resumed a downward trend, declining 0.1 percent following a 0.8 percent upturn

in November. The price index for overall imports rose 8.5 percent in 2011, driven by a 9.2 percent increase

for the index over the first five months of the year. 2011 was the third consecutive year that import prices

rose, advancing 5.3 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively in 2010 and 2009, after declining 10.1 percent in

2008.  

 

Fuel Imports: Fuel prices fell 0.5 percent in December after rising 3.7 percent in November. In December,

lower prices for both petroleum and natural gas, down 0.4 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively, each

contributed to the overall decline. Despite falling 3.4 percent since April, overall fuel prices advanced 25.2

percent in 2011 as a 27.4 percent rise in petroleum prices more than offset a 9.4 percent drop in natural gas

prices. Fuel prices previously advanced 14.2 percent in 2010 and 62.2 percent in 2009.   

 

All Imports Excluding Fuel: The price index for nonfuel imports ticked up 0.1 percent in December

following 0.2 percent decreases in each of the two previous months. In December, higher prices for each of

the major finished goods categories led nonfuel import prices up despite lower prices for nonfuel industrial

supplies and materials and foods, feeds, and beverages. Nonfuel import prices advanced 3.4 percent over the

past year after rising 3.0 percent in 2010. Higher prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials; foods,

feeds, and beverages; and finished goods all contributed to the 2011 increase in nonfuel prices.     

[TABLE]

Exports

 

All Exports: Prices for overall exports declined 0.5 percent in December, following a 0.1 percent advance in

November and a 2.0 percent decrease in October. In December, falling prices for both agricultural exports

and nonagricultural exports factored into the decrease in export prices. The price index for overall exports

rose 3.6 percent in 2011 after rising 6.5 percent in 2010 and 3.4 percent in 2009.

 

Agricultural Exports: The price index for agricultural exports fell 2.6 percent in December, driven by lower

prices for corn, soybeans, and wheat, down 8.2 percent, 4.0 percent, and 7.8 percent, respectively.

Agricultural prices advanced 0.8 percent in 2011 despite falling 7.4 percent in the final quarter of the year.

Agricultural prices rose 20.5 percent in 2010 and 9.2 percent in 2009 in contrast to the relatively small

increase in 2011. The rise in agricultural prices in 2011 was driven by a 28.1 percent increase in vegetable

prices and a 7.9 percent advance in corn prices.      

 

All Exports Excluding Agriculture: Nonagricultural prices fell 0.2 percent in December, led by lower

prices for nonagricultural supplies and materials. Prices for nonagricultural exports rose 4.0 percent in 2011

after a 5.1 percent increase the previous year and a 2.9 percent advance in 2009.

 

AND MORE...including CHARTS & TABLES...

 

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This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

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Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 262-6041               
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
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