The following is the unedited transcript of the news release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.


The U.S. Import Price Index increased 1.1% in December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The advance followed a 0.5% rise in November and was led by a 4.8% upturn in petroleum prices. Export prices rose 0.7 percent in December, after increasing 0.4% the previous month.

Import Goods

Import prices rose for the second consecutive month in December and the 1.1% increase was the largest monthly advance since May. The price index for overall imports also increased for the fifth straight year in 2006, advancing 2.5% after more substantial increases of 8.0% and 6.7% in 2005 and 2004, respectively.

A 4.8% increase in petroleum prices was the largest contributor to the overall December rise. Petroleum prices resumed their upward trend after declining 21.5% for the three-month period ended in November. The index rose 6.2% overall in 2006, the fifth consecutive year the index advanced, but the smallest annual increase over that period.

Nonpetroleum prices increased 0.4% in December after a 0.9% advance the previous month. Prices for nonpetroleum imports rose 1.7% over the past 12 months after advancing 2.4% and 3.7% in 2005 and 2004, respectively. The December increase in nonpetroleum prices was driven by a 1.5% rise in nonpetroleum industrial supplies and materials prices. That advance in turn was led by higher prices for natural gas, up for the second consecutive month, metals and chemicals prices. The price index for nonpetroleum industrial supplies and materials increased 4.5% over the past year.

The price indexes for consumer goods, capital goods, and foods, feeds, and beverages also contributed to the higher prices for nonpetroleum imports in December. Consumer goods prices rose 0.2% in December and 1.2% for the year ended in December. Prices for capital goods edged up 0.1% after remaining unchanged over the previous four months. Overall, the index increased a modest 0.4% in 2006. Foods, feeds, and beverages prices rose 0.6% for the month and 4.1 percent for the December 2005-2006 period.

In contrast, prices for automotive vehicles decreased 0.1% in December, the first downturn for the index since a 0.2 percent drop in January. Despite the December decline, automotive vehicle prices rose 0.6 percent over the past 12 months.

Export Goods

Export prices increased 0.7% in December as higher prices for both agricultural and nonagricultural exports contributed to the rise. The advance in the prices for overall exports followed a 0.4% rise in November and was the largest monthly gain since a similar 0.7% increase in June. Prices for overall exports rose 4.6% in 2006, the largest annual increase for the index since a 6.2% jump in 1988. The 2006 rise followed a 2.8% advance the previous year.

Both the December and annual increases in overall export prices were partly driven by higher prices for agricultural exports, which rose 2.2% in December, led primarily by higher corn prices. The price index for export corn increased 5.2% in December after a 20.7% jump in November. For the year ended in December, agricultural prices rose 13.2% compared to a 4.9% increase in 2005.

Nonagricultural prices also increased in December, rising 0.5%. The index rose 3.8% over the past 12 months. A 1.6% advance in nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials prices led the December increase. Higher prices for fuels, metals, and selected building materials all contributed to that advance. For the year ended in December, nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials prices rose 9.8%.

Prices for each of the major finished goods areas also increased in December. Capital goods prices ticked up 0.1%, the fourth consecutive monthly advance. The index rose 1.2% over the past 12 months. Automotive vehicle prices increased 0.3%, the largest one-month advance since October 2005. Prices for automotive vehicles rose 1.5% for the year ended in December. The price index for consumer goods advanced 0.1% for the month and 2.1% over 2006.

Imports by Locality of Origin

Import prices from Canada increased 1.6% in December after a 3.3% advance in November. Both increases resulted mostly from higher fuel prices and followed declines of 4.5% and 2.3% in October and September, respectively. Despite the recent increases, prices of imports from Canada only rose a modest 0.3% for the December 2005-2006 period.

Prices of imports from the European Union and Mexico also rose in December, increasing 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively. Higher petroleum prices contributed to those increases. Import prices from the European Union increased 5.7% in 2006, while the price index of imports from Mexico rose 5.2% over the same period.

Import prices from China and from Japan each increased 0.1% in December, and both indexes declined 1.1% for the year ended in December. The December increase in prices from China was the first in four months. The index has not recorded an advance larger than 0.1% since October 2005. Import prices from Japan rose for the first time since June.

Import and Export Services

Import air passenger fares rose 3.3% in December after declining in each of the four previous months. In December the increase was led by an 18.1% jump in Asian fares. Overall, in 2006, import air passenger fares increased 7.8%. Export air passenger fares also reversed a recent downturn in December, rising 0.9%. The index rose 7.0% over the past year.

Prices for import air freight increased 0.9% in December following a 2.3% decrease the previous month. Higher air freight prices from both Europe and Asia, up 1.8% and 0.5%, respectively, contributed to the increase. Overall import air freight prices rose 1.7% for the year ended in December. The price index for export air freight ticked up 0.1% in December and rose 4.2% over the past 12 months.


Available at:

ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/news.release/ximpim.txt