U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes, monthly.
For more information:
http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/ximpim.toc.htm
TECHNICAL TERMS
Import and Export Merchandise and Services Price Indexes — All indexes use a modified Laspeyres formula and
are not seasonally adjusted. Price indexes for merchandise goods are reweighted annually, with a two-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 http://www.bls.gov/mxp, or by calling (202) 691-7101.
Merchandise Goods Classification Systems — The merchandise price indexes are published using four
classification systems. Items are classified, respectively, by end use for the Bureau of Economic Analysis
System, industry for the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), and product category for the
Harmonized System (HS) and the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) System. While classification
by end use and product category are self-explanatory, a couple of notes are in order for classifying items by
industry. In the NAICS tables, for both imports and exports, items are classified by output industry, not
input industry. As an example, NAICS import index 326 (plastics and rubber products) would include outputs
such as manufactured plastic rather than inputs such as petroleum. The NAICS classification structure also
matches the classification system used by the PPI to produce the NAICS primary products indexes.
Import Price Indexes — Products have been 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 Indexes — Products have been 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.
Import Indexes by Locality of Origin — Prices used in these indexes are a subset of the data collected for
the Import Price Indexes. Beginning with January 2002, the indexes are defined by locality of origin using a
nomenclature based upon the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Nonmanufactured goods are
defined as NAICS 11 and 21, and manufactured goods are defined as NAICS 31-33.
Services Price Indexes — Price indexes for internationally traded services are presented using two
definitions: Balance of Payments (which represent transactions between U.S. and foreign residents) and
International (which represent transactions inbound to and outbound from the U.S.). The Air Passenger Fares
Indexes are calculated from data collected from a commercial airline reservation system. These data exclude
frequent flyer tickets and those sold by consolidators. The Crude Oil Tanker Freight Indexes are calculated
from data collected by the U. S. Department of Energy, and the publication of these indexes is lagged two
months. The Air Freight and Ocean Liner Freight Indexes are calculated from data collected directly from
companies. Fact sheets specifying detailed information for each services industry are available at
http://www.bls.gov/mxp under “Publications and Other Documentation.”
Revision Policy — To reflect the availability of late reports and corrections by respondents, monthly data
may be revised in each of the three months after original publication. After three months, no further data
revisions take place. So, for example, data released in the January release will be subject to revision in the
releases for February, March, and April.
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 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 National Income and Product Accounts, while International indexes are more appropriate for
market analysis. Merchandise and services indexes also can be used to study U.S. competitiveness and price
elasticities, and the merchandise import indexes by country or region of origin are useful for terms of trade
analysis.
Division of International Prices
Bureau of Labor Statistics
PSB Building, Rm. 3955
2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E.
Washington, DC 20212-0001
referenced on dataset section Notes (#2)
