2026 U.S. Import Trades

It represents the overall (headline) price level for all imported commodities (non-military goods), aggregated using the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) End Use Classification System. “End Use” classification groups imports by their primary purpose or how they are ultimately used in the U.S. economy (e.g., consumer goods, capital goods, industrial supplies, foods, fuels, etc.), rather than by industry (NAICS) or product type (Harmonized System).
The index covers a broad “market basket” of imported goods, weighted by their relative importance in U.S. imports.
It excludes military goods, used items, works of art, and certain other categories.

Economists, policymakers, and analysts use this index for several purposes:
Inflation monitoring — Rising import prices can contribute to higher consumer prices (CPI) or producer prices (PPI) in the U.S., especially for goods with high import content.
Trade balance and GDP — The BLS index helps “deflate” (adjust for price changes) nominal U.S. import values to calculate real trade volumes and the foreign trade component of GDP.
Monetary policy — The Federal Reserve watches import prices as an input for understanding external inflation pressures, exchange rate effects, and overall price trends.
Business and contract decisions — Companies use it to forecast costs of imported inputs or negotiate contracts.
Global trends — Sub-indices (e.g., by end-use category like fuels, capital goods, or consumer goods) help identify specific pressures, such as energy price swings or supply-chain issues

Import Price Index (End Use): Foods, Feeds, and Beverages (IR0)

This is a sub-index of the broader All Commodities Import Price Index (IR). It covers imported items such as:
Fruits and vegetables
Fish and shellfish
Meat and meat products
Coffee, cocoa, tea, and spices
Sugar and confectionery
Beverages (including distilled alcoholic beverages)
Animal feeds and feedstuffs
Other processed and unprocessed food products

It excludes domestically produced items and focuses only on imports.
The index reflects prices paid by U.S. importers (typically including freight and insurance up to the U.S. border, but excluding U.S. tariffs/duties).
Weights are based on the relative importance of these categories in total U.S. imports (Foods, feeds, & beverages currently represent about 6.9% of all imports by value).

This is a narrow sub-index within the broader Apparel, Footwear, and Household Goods category (IR400) under the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) End Use classification system. It specifically covers imports where cotton is the primary material, including:
Cotton apparel (e.g., t-shirts, jeans, shirts, blouses, underwear, and other clothing made primarily from cotton fabrics)
Cotton household goods (e.g., cotton towels, bedsheets, blankets, curtains, and other textile-based home products)
The index reflects transaction prices paid by U.S. importers (including freight and insurance costs up to the U.S. border, but generally excluding U.S. tariffs and duties). It uses a fixed basket of goods weighted by their importance in U.S. cotton apparel and household textile imports.
This category is a small slice of total U.S. imports (cotton apparel and related household goods represent only a few percent of the overall consumer goods import basket), but it is highly relevant for clothing and home textile markets.

This series represents the nominal (current-dollar) value of U.S. imports of:

Goods (physical merchandise such as consumer goods, capital goods, industrial supplies, automobiles, foods, fuels, etc.)
Services (travel, transportation, intellectual property charges like royalties and licenses, financial services, insurance, telecommunications, business/professional services, government services, etc.)
Trade balance calculation: BOPTIMP minus the corresponding exports series (BOPTEXP) gives the monthly trade deficit/surplus on a BOP basis.
GDP and national accounts: Used by BEA to compute the net exports component of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Real (inflation-adjusted) versions help measure the volume of imports.
Current account: Part of the broader U.S. international transactions accounts.
Economic analysis: Tracks the strength of U.S. domestic demand, effects of exchange rates, global supply chains, and external shocks (e.g., energy prices, tariffs, or recessions abroad).
Policy: Monitored by the Federal Reserve, Treasury, and Congress for impacts on employment, inflation, and currency valuation.

This series covers merchandise imports only — tangible goods such as:
Consumer goods (apparel, electronics, household items, foods, etc.)
Capital goods (machinery, computers, semiconductors, vehicles)
Industrial supplies and materials (crude oil, chemicals, metals)
Automotive vehicles and parts
Foods, feeds, and beverages
Other goods (including non-monetary gold in some adjustments)
It excludes services (travel, transportation, intellectual property, financial services, etc.). Services imports are tracked separately, and together with goods they form the broader BOPTIMP series we discussed previously.

This series tracks imports of services only (it excludes physical goods). Major categories include:
Travel (foreign tourists/visitors spending in the U.S. is an export; U.S. residents traveling abroad is an import)
Passenger fares and transportation (freight, port services, etc.)
Intellectual property charges (royalties, licenses for software, patents, trademarks, audiovisual content, etc.)
Financial services (banking, insurance, securities trading, etc.) Business, professional, and technical services (consulting, R&D, legal, accounting, engineering, etc.)
Telecommunications, computer, and information services
Government services and other miscellaneous services