US Import Prices Rise as Data Gaps Linger From Longest Government Shutdown
The U.S. Labor Department reported a 0.4 percent rise in import prices over two months. This follows a record shutdown that hampered inflation data collection.
Insights:
The U.S. Labor Department 
USBureau of Labor Statistics reported on January 15, 2026, that import prices increased 0.4% over the two-month period from September to November 2025. This rise comes as the 12-month increase for the period ending in November 2025 reached 0.1%. These figures represent the first comprehensive view of import pricing following the longest government shutdown in the history of the US, which lasted 43 days and significantly disrupted federal data gathering.
USBureau of Labor Statistics reported on January 15, 2026, that import prices increased 0.4% over the two-month period from September to November 2025. This rise comes as the 12-month increase for the period ending in November 2025 reached 0.1%. These figures represent the first comprehensive view of import pricing following the longest government shutdown in the history of the US, which lasted 43 days and significantly disrupted federal data gathering.The extended 43-day government shutdown prevented the collection of survey data for October, causing the Bureau of Labor Statistics to withhold the publication of standard monthly changes in import prices for both October and November. While the agency did publish monthly changes for a limited number of indexes calculated from nonsurvey data, the broader disruption meant that data required to produce the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October was never collected. In contrast, the collection of data for the Producer Price Index (PPI) was not affected by the shutdown, although its final processing was delayed.
