Web site: www.bls.gov/ro3/		PLS – 4469 FOR RELEASE: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2008
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Philadelphia Area Consumer Price Index: October 2008 (PDF)

Retail prices in the Philadelphia area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), fell 1.4 percent from August to October, after no change in the previous two-month period, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  Sheila Watkins, the Bureau's regional commissioner, noted that the recent decline in the CPI was due to lower prices for transportation and housing, as a smaller decrease in the medical care index was more than offset by price advances in the five remaining categories.  (See chart A.)  The October level of 225.113 (1982-84 = 100) was 2.8 percent higher than in October 2007.  Over the same period, the core inflation rate, as measured by the all items less food and energy index, rose 1.2 percent.  (See table 1.)

Chart A.  2-month and 12-month percent changes ended October 2008 for the major categories of the CPI-U for the Philadelphia area, not seasonally adjusted

chart data

Dominated by a 15.4-percent drop in gasoline prices, the transportation index fell 5.6 percent since August—the largest bimonthly decrease in two years.  Despite their recent decline, gasoline prices were 18.2 percent higher than in October 2007.  Also contributing to the two-month decrease in the transportation index were lower prices for airline fare, used cars and trucks, and new vehicles.  Over the year, the transportation index rose 5.9 percent.

The housing index fell 1.7 percent from August to October, led by a 6.4-percent drop in fuels and utilities prices—the largest two-month decrease in 15 years.  Electricity prices, which normally rise in June as summer rate schedules are introduced, then decline in October, were largely responsible for the recent decline in the fuels and utilities index, down 8.0 percent since August.  Over the year, electricity prices rose 4.8 percent.  Lower prices for fuel oil also contributed to the recent decline in fuels and utilities prices, as did those for utility (piped) gas service, down 1.7 percent since August but up 13.0 percent over the year.  The overall fuels and utilities index advanced 9.5 percent over the last 12 months.  The shelter index, which includes rent of primary residence, lodging away from home, owners’ equivalent rent of primary residence, and tenants’ and household insurance, declined 0.8 percent over the last two months but was 0.4 percent higher since October 2007.  Prices for household furnishings and operations, the third component of the housing index, were 0.8 percent lower since August but inched up 0.1 percent over the last 12 months.  The overall housing index advanced 1.6 percent over the year.

After four consecutive bimonthly periods of increases totaling 2.9 percent, the medical care index edged down 0.2 percent since August.  The medical care index was 2.7 percent higher than its year-ago level.

The remaining categories had higher prices from August to October.  The food and beverages index advanced 2.0 percent since August due primarily to a 3.0-percent rise in prices for food away from home.  Over the year, prices for food away from home were 4.0 percent higher.  The other two components of the food and beverages index, food at home (1.3 percent) and alcoholic beverages (0.9 percent), also had higher prices from August to October.  Over the last 12 months, prices for food at home and alcoholic beverages rose 4.8 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.  The overall food and beverages index advanced 4.3 percent since last October.

The education and communication index increased for the fifth consecutive bimonthly period, up 3.0 percent since December 2007 and 0.5 percent over the last two months.  Over the year, education and communication prices rose 2.4 percent.  The recreation index edged up 0.3 percent over the last two months to a level 4.1 percent higher than a year ago.

The apparel index rose 0.4 percent from August to October, reflecting higher prices for a number of items, including men’s shirts and sweaters and men’s footwear.  Apparel prices were unchanged over the last 12 months.

The other goods and services index, which includes tobacco and smoking products, personal care products, personal care services, and miscellaneous personal services such as legal, funeral, and laundry and dry cleaning services, edged up 0.2 percent from August to October to a level 1.6 percent higher than a year ago.

The energy index, which reflects prices for gasoline and household fuels, dropped 11.2 percent since August, due in large part to lower gasoline prices, which were down 15.4 percent over the last two months.  Lower prices for electricity (-8.0 percent), fuel oil, and utility gas service (-1.7 percent) also contributed to the recent decline in the energy index.  Since last October, energy prices rose 13.6 percent.

Nearly two-thirds of the two-month decline in the CPI was attributable to a 2.4-percent decline in prices for commodities; the services index was also lower (-0.8 percent) since August.  These two indexes were 3.9 and 2.2 percent higher over the year, respectively.

The CPI-U for the Philadelphia area stood at 225.113 on the 1982-84=100 reference base, which means that a market basket of goods and services which averaged $100.00 in 1982-84 would have cost $225.11 last month.

The Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md., Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA), includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland.

The relative importance of a component of the CPI is its expenditure or value weight expressed as a percentage of all items within an area.  Relative importance ratios show approximately how the index population distributes expenditures when the value weights are collected and represent an estimate of how consumers would distribute their expenditures as prices change over time.  Relative importance ratios cannot be used as estimates of current spending patterns or as indicators of changing consumer expenditures in the intervals between weight revisions because consumption patterns are influenced by factors—including income, variations in climate, family size, and availability of new and different kinds of goods and services—other than price change. (See table A.)

Table A (2005-2006 weights). Relative Importance of components in the Consumer Price Index: Philadelphia area, December 2007

Item and group	CPI-U
Expenditure category
All items	100.000
Food and beverages	13.580
Food	12.650
Food at home	6.994
Food away from home	5.655
Alcoholic beverages	0.930
Housing	46.849
Shelter	36.425
Rent of primary residence	5.817
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence	28.291
Fuels and utilities	6.692
Household energy	5.757
Gas (piped) and electricity	4.928
Electricity	3.369
Utility (piped) gas service	1.560
Household furnishings and operations	3.731
Apparel	3.719
Transportation	16.101
Private transportation	14.978
Motor fuel	4.893
Gasoline	4.664
Medical care	5.119
Recreation	4.889
Education and communication	6.654
Other goods and services	3.089
Commodity and service group
Commodities	37.045
Commodities less food and beverages	23.465
Non durables less food and beverages	14.629
Durables	8.836
Services	62.955
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	94.881
All items less shelter	63.575
Commodities less food	24.396
Nondurables	28.209
Nondurables less food	15.559
Services less rent of shelter	26.833
Services less medical care services	59.246
Energy	10.650
All items less energy	89.350
All items less food and energy	76.700

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods, Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Expenditure category	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Aug. 2008	Sep. 2008	Oct. 2008	Oct. 2007	Aug. 2008	Sep. 2008
All items	228.337	-	225.113	2.8	-1.4	-
Food and beverages	203.201	-	207.181	4.3	2.0	-
Food	203.080	-	207.214	4.4	2.0	-
Food at home	217.116	222.175	219.843	4.8	1.3	-1.0
Food away from home	180.370	-	185.831	4.0	3.0	-
Alcoholic beverages	202.158	-	203.979	2.5	0.9	-
Housing	236.167	-	232.106	1.6	-1.7	-
Shelter	276.859	275.013	274.515	0.4	-0.8	-0.2
Rent of primary residence (1)	256.267	256.532	257.647	3.0	0.5	0.4
Owners' equivalent rent of primary residence (1) (2)	280.050	279.648	280.104	0.4	0.0	0.2
Fuels and utilities	234.266	-	219.262	9.5	-6.4	-
Household energy	217.511	210.638	201.400	9.5	-7.4	-4.4
Gas (piped) and electricity (1)	224.802	220.700	211.362	7.4	-6.0	-4.2
Electricity (1)	210.970	208.136	194.100	4.8	-8.0	-6.7
Utility (piped) gas service (1)	254.720	247.463	250.419	13.0	-1.7	1.2
Household furnishings and operations	125.706	-	124.693	0.1	-0.8	-
Apparel	98.789	-	99.159	0.0	0.4	-
Transportation	209.522	-	197.839	5.9	-5.6	-
Private transportation	205.959	-	194.700	5.9	-5.5	-
Motor fuel	338.371	318.344	286.742	18.8	-15.3	-9.9
Gasoline (all types)	331.966	312.236	280.974	18.2	-15.4	-10.0
Gasoline, unleaded regular (3)	334.106	313.376	280.476	17.2	-16.1	-10.5
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade (3) (4)	324.533	306.365	279.123	21.0	-14.0	-8.9
Gasoline, unleaded premium (3)	308.249	292.472	265.921	19.5	-13.7	-9.1
Medical care	418.465	-	417.465	2.7	-0.2	-
Recreation (5)	122.572	-	122.998	4.1	0.3	-
Education and communication (5)	125.390	-	126.066	2.4	0.5	-
Other goods and services	389.079	-	389.990	1.6	0.2	-
Commodity and service group
Commodities	176.140	-	171.882	3.9	-2.4	-
Commodities less food and beverages	158.227	-	150.581	3.7	-4.8	-
Nondurables less food and beverages	199.962	-	186.433	7.4	-6.8	-
Durables	112.332	-	110.941	-1.9	-1.2	-
Services	282.554	-	280.276	2.2	-0.8	-
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	220.084	-	216.839	2.8	-1.5	-
All items less shelter	213.908	-	210.216	4.2	-1.7	-
Commodities less food	160.068	-	152.663	3.6	-4.6	-
Nondurables	204.027	-	198.395	5.8	-2.8	-
Nondurables less food	200.173	-	187.465	7.0	-6.3	-
Services less rent of shelter (2)	295.672	-	293.473	4.5	-0.7	-
Services less medical care services	271.224	-	268.877	2.1	-0.9	-
Energy	260.773	249.093	231.669	13.6	-11.2	-7.0
All items less energy	225.880	-	225.759	1.7	-0.1	-
All items less food and energy	232.104	-	231.177	1.2	-0.4	-
Footnotes 1 This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. 2 Indexes on a December 1982=100 base. 3 Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. 4 Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. 5 Indexes on a December 1997=100 base. - Data not available. NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.

 

Last Modified Date: November 19, 2008