U.S. import prices rose 1.1% in September as higher energy costs combined with price increases across machinery, industrial materials and consumer goods, signaling broader inflation pressure on businesses purchasing products from overseas.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, October 16, that the increase followed a revised 0.5% advance in August. Import prices were 8.1% higher than a year earlier, the largest 12-month increase since July 2022, when they rose 8.8%.
The underlying figures showed that the increase was not confined to fuel. Nonfuel import prices advanced 0.7% in September, matching their August increase after revision, while fuel import prices climbed 4.8%.
The result points to growing cost pressure across multiple categories of imported goods, although it does not establish how much of those increases businesses will ultimately pass on to American consumers.
Energy Costs Rebound Sharply
Fuel import prices rose 4.8% in September after falling 0.2% in August and 6.8% in July. Petroleum and petroleum product prices increased 4.6% during September, while imported natural gas prices climbed 1.6%.
Over the previous 12 months, fuel import prices surged 34.5%. Petroleum import prices increased 35.4%, and imported natural gas prices jumped 96.5%, the largest annual gain in that category since June 2022.
The fuel rebound helps explain the acceleration in the overall import index. However, the simultaneous rise in nonfuel costs is particularly important because it indicates that imported inflation pressure was extending into products beyond energy.
Nonfuel Prices Keep Climbing
Prices for imports excluding fuel increased 0.7% in September and were 6.0% higher than a year earlier. According to the September import tables, nonfuel import prices have not recorded a monthly decline since August 2025.
Industrial supplies and materials excluding fuel increased 1.4% in September, following a 1.3% rise in August. Higher prices for finished metals, manufactured nonmetal products and agricultural industrial materials contributed to the increase.
Import prices for capital goods rose 0.9% for the second consecutive month. Computers, peripherals, semiconductors and industrial machinery were among the products contributing to the advance.
Consumer goods excluding automobiles increased 0.4%, while automotive vehicles, parts and engines rose 0.3%. Food, feed and beverage import prices were unchanged, as increases in vegetables, coffee and fruit were offset by declines in other food categories.
September import-price changes by category
Month-over-month, not seasonally adjusted
| Import category | September change |
|---|---|
| Fuel | +4.8% |
| Nonfuel materials | +1.4% |
| All imports | +1.1% |
| Capital goods | +0.9% |
| Nonfuel imports | +0.7% |
| Consumer goods | +0.4% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics , October 16, 2026.
Categories overlap and should not be added together. Changes represent price movements, not contributions to the overall import-price index.
The divergence matters because higher imported equipment and materials costs can affect businesses before those costs appear in retail prices. Whether the increases reach consumers depends on pricing decisions, competition and demand.
August Data Revised Lower
The September release also revised the previous month’s figures, providing an important distinction between the latest data and the initial estimates. August’s overall import-price increase was revised down to 0.5% from the 0.7% initially reported on September 16.
The revision means that September’s 1.1% advance represented an acceleration of 0.6 percentage points from the revised August rate, rather than the 0.4-percentage-point acceleration implied by comparing September with the original August estimate.
The previous BLS release had reported July import prices declining 0.3%; the latest figures revise that decline to 0.4%. Such revisions underscore why consecutive monthly releases must be compared using the latest available data rather than mixing preliminary and revised estimates.
Trade Prices Show Divergence
Import prices also increased across several major trading-partner indexes in September. Prices for imports from China rose 0.7%, their largest monthly advance since December 2021. Import prices from Canada increased 1.3%, Japan 0.6%, Mexico 0.6% and the European Union 0.3%.
Meanwhile, U.S. export prices climbed 2.2% during September after a revised 1.2% increase in August. Agricultural export prices rose 2.6%, supported by higher prices for soybeans, corn and wheat. Nonagricultural export prices advanced 2.1%.
Export prices were 11.6% higher than in September 2025, compared with the 8.1% annual increase in import prices. That difference shows that the two broad price indexes were rising at different rates, although the comparison alone does not establish an improvement in the overall U.S. trade balance, which also depends on traded quantities and values.
Implications for Inflation
The September import-price report adds evidence of inflation pressure in internationally traded goods at a time when businesses and policymakers are assessing how higher costs may affect the broader economy.
Import-price indexes measure changes in prices paid by U.S. importers, rather than the prices consumers pay at stores. The data are not seasonally adjusted and do not directly measure the impact of tariffs paid at the border.
Consequently, the 1.1% monthly increase should not be interpreted as an equivalent rise in consumer inflation or as proof that retailers will raise their prices by the same amount.
For the Federal Reserve, persistent increases in imported materials and finished goods may complicate the inflation outlook, but the report alone cannot determine future interest-rate decisions.
The next test will be whether price increases outside energy continue as businesses adjust purchasing, inventories and selling prices. The BLS is scheduled to release October’s import and export price indexes on November 17, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
