Import prices rise 1.1% in September and 8.1% on the year, the most since 2022, as fuel jumps 4.8%
Export prices rose 2.2% in the month and 11.6% in the year. Imported natural gas is up 96.5% from a year ago, and the cost is still working its way toward shelf prices.
U.S. import prices rose 1.1% in September and are 8.1% higher than a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics release published at 8:30 a.m. Friday. That is the biggest 12-month rise in the index since the year ended July 2022, when it hit 8.8%. Export prices rose 2.2% on the month and 11.6% on the year, the largest annual gain since the 12.9% reading for July 2021 to July 2022.
It is the third inflation release in three days showing the same thing. We covered consumer prices at 3.7% on Wednesday and producer prices at 6.3% on Thursday. Import prices sit earlier in the chain than either.
The numbers
| BLS import and export indexes | September, month | 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| All imports | +1.1% | +8.1% |
| Fuel imports | +4.8% | +34.5% |
| Petroleum imports | +4.6% | +35.4% |
| Natural gas imports | +1.6% | +96.5% |
| Nonfuel imports | +0.7% | +6.0% |
| All exports | +2.2% | +11.6% |
| Agricultural exports | +2.6% | +9.0% |
We cross-checked the headline indexes against the BLS public data API: all imports stand at 152.2 against 150.5 in August and 140.8 a year ago, and all exports at 170.8 against 167.2 in August. BLS notes that some October and November 2025 values are missing because of that year's lapse in appropriations, so the year-ago comparison here is against September 2025.
The number behind the number
Fuel gets the attention, but the nonfuel line is the one to watch. Imports excluding fuel rose 0.7% in the month and 6.0% in the year. That is the price of machinery, consumer goods, parts and materials, and it moved even without an energy shock behind it. Fuel is the loud part of the 8.1%; nonfuel is the part that does not reverse when oil does.
Who it actually hits
A retailer or contractor who buys imported goods on a purchase order sees these prices with a lag of weeks to months. Take a $200,000 inventory order priced at last year's levels: a 6.0% nonfuel rise puts the same goods at $212,000, a $12,000 difference before freight and any markup. A shop that cannot pass that through absorbs it in margin.
Importers of fuel-heavy goods feel more. A fuel index up 34.5% in a year shows up in freight and surcharges, which is a cost the Fed's Beige Book already flagged as contracts renew. Trucking and construction firms are not importers, but they are the ones paying the surcharge; see our trucking playbook.
On the other side, exporters are being paid more. Agricultural export prices rose 2.6% in September, the largest monthly rise in BLS data going back some time, and 9.0% over the year.
What to watch
Import prices tend to feed producer prices, then consumer prices, so a firm print here keeps pressure on the October readings. Next up is the October import price release on November 17. For the rates angle, see the Fed and rates desk.
Sources: BLS U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes, September 2026; BLS public data API. This is market information, not investment advice.
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