A lower used-car price did not settle the transport budget for someone who needed to drive to work. In its November 10, 2022 release, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the used cars and trucks index fell 2.4 percent in October, seasonally adjusted. The new-vehicle index moved the other way, rising 0.4 percent. [cpi2022]
Running a vehicle brought a different set of changes. Consumer gasoline prices rose 4.0 percent in October after seasonal adjustment, following three monthly declines. Motor vehicle insurance rose 1.7 percent on the same basis. Those increases matter to the reading of the report even when a household was not shopping for a replacement car. [cpi2022]
The producer release on November 15 supplied another part of the picture: gasoline accounted for 60 percent of the October increase in final-demand goods prices. That is a contribution to a producer-goods index, not a measure of gasoline’s share of a commuter’s spending. It cannot establish what any particular driver paid. [ppi2022]
Our practical reading is to separate acquisition costs from recurring costs before describing transport as cheaper. The consumer figures support that distinction, but do not measure a worker’s commute, insurance renewal or ability to switch transport. This retrospective uses the two BLS releases available by November 15, not later revisions; it makes no claim that producer changes caused the consumer movements. [cpi2022][ppi2022]
Source documents
- Consumer Price Index, October 2022https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_11102022.htm
- Producer Price Indexes, October 2022https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ppi_11152022.htm