The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that import prices declined (-9.3%) in 2008. This is the biggest annual price decline in the 25 year history of the series.

Import prices are back to where they were two years ago.

Import prices foretell the direction and generally the size of producer and consumer price inflation. You can expect that, with the December numbers, both PPI and CPI will show actual year-over-year deflation for 2008. This will be the first such annual reading in over 50 years.