U.S. Import Prices Rise 1.1% in September as Fuel Costs Accelerate
Rising U.S. import and export prices, led by fuel, signal broader cross-border cost pressure for Canadian-linked supply chains.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that its import price index rose 1.1% in September 2026, following a revised 0.5% increase in August. Import prices were 8.1% higher than a year earlier, the strongest 12-month rise since July 2022. The release, issued October 16, also showed U.S. export prices increasing 2.2% in September after a 1.2% gain in August. [1]
Fuel was the largest source of September’s import-price acceleration. U.S. fuel import prices increased 4.8% during the month, reversing declines in July and August, as petroleum and petroleum-product prices rose 4.6% and imported natural-gas prices rose 1.6%. Fuel import prices were up 34.5% year over year; within that measure, petroleum products rose 35.4% and natural gas rose 96.5%. These are price-index movements rather than measures of Canadian export volumes or realized Canadian producer revenues. [1]
Cost pressures were not confined to fuel. Nonfuel import prices rose 0.7% in September and 6.0% over 12 months, with increases reported across capital goods, nonfuel industrial supplies, consumer goods excluding autos, and automotive vehicles, parts and engines. Imported automotive vehicles, parts and engines rose 0.3% in September, while the index for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials gained 1.4%, including higher prices for finished metal shapes and advanced manufacturing inputs. [1]
The data also point to firmer prices for U.S. goods sold abroad. Agricultural export prices rose 2.6% in September, supported by higher soybean, corn and wheat prices, and were 9.0% above their September 2025 level. Nonagricultural export prices increased 2.1% in the month, while automotive vehicles, parts and engines export prices rose 0.8%. For Canada-U.S. trade specifically, the BLS reported a 1.3% September increase in prices of U.S. imports from Canada and a 1.0% increase in prices of U.S. exports to Canada. [1]
The release provides a broad indication of price conditions facing North American trade, but it does not identify the portion attributable to tariffs, exchange rates, supply disruptions or individual bilateral contracts. Nor does it establish a change in the existing sector outlooks for Canadian automotive, energy, agriculture, metals or forestry businesses. The figures nevertheless add current evidence that energy and industrial-input price movements remain an important cost variable for firms operating across the border. [1]
This is significant economic data because U.S. import prices accelerated both monthly and annually, with fuel prices up 4.8% in September and 34.5% over 12 months, potentially raising input and transport-cost pressure across Canada-U.S. supply chains. The rating is not higher because the BLS release is an aggregate price measure and does not attribute the increases to a specific trade policy or demonstrate realized effects on Canadian industries. [1]