Posted on 04/24/2021 3:45:52 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Inflation is coming.
Look no further than Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble sharing plans this week to raise prices to offset rising commodity costs. The costs of raw materials, ranging from lumber to resin, are surging, so companies are taking steps to protect profits.
ING Chief International Economist James Knightley is forecasting consumer prices will continue to rise in the near term and could gain almost 4% by May, compared with the same time a year ago. The consumer price index, which tracks how much U.S. consumers pay for a basket of goods, rose 2.6% in March from the year-ago period, according to the Department of Labor.
Low inventory is helping companies flex their pricing power, he said.
Moody’s analyst Linda Montag said that she doesn’t view higher prices as a competitive advantage because all consumer companies are facing higher commodity costs. Besides Coke and P&G, PepsiCo, Kimberly-Clark, General Mills and J.M. Smucker have addressed raising prices. And consumers might not even notice that they’re paying more for diapers or soda.
“Consumer companies across the board have gotten very savvy about how to implement price increases without just slapping on five to 10% price increases...
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
Dang. You reminded me of the '70s. I used to eat Filet-o-Fish from McDonalds. It once had a slice of cheese on it. By the time the '70s inflation was done, the cheese was so thin that you could see the texture of the bread through it.
Don’t know. Heard 2 news reports that mentioned a battery shortage is coming.
Ice cream containers get smaller every week it seems like.
Tuna has long been getting smaller and smaller cans. Be careful using older recipes because you’ll likely need add an extra “small” can. The small cans have gone from 7.5 oz to 5 oz today. They also contain 50% liquid. IOW, tuna is one of the more expensive meats when it used to be one of the cheaper.
Companies are also changing the formula of their products. One the last grocery trip, I bought some Hershey bars and GV rice krispies. Both are so awful tasting that we’ll never buy them again. Hadn’t bought either in forever so don’t know when the formula recipes changed but maybe they can’t get the right ingredients these days or they’re just going cheap.
But people are flocking to buy lumber. There is no slow down of construction. Construction boomed during covid. People have $$$$$. Those high lumber prices were manipulated by the industry. They know people will pay these prices so they’re going to stay high.
Same with beef prices a few years ago during the drought that caused ranchers to nearly give away their stock for the market. Prices skyrocketed in the grocery store when cattle was being sold dirt cheap. Prices have not gone down.
Gas is cheaper than it was under W when it was $4+.
When we remodeled the house 20 years ago, I made sure the bathroom cabinets fit toilet paper roll storage to a tee. Today, there is significant wasted space between the shelve heights and width, too.
Notice, too, the cardboard roll is getting larger so it needs less paper to look like the same amount.
Angel Soft doesn’t know the definition of soft anymore. Might as well use mulched prickly Christmas trees.
You’d think ice cream ingredients would be next to nothing when the dairy farmers where crying over “supposedly” dumping milk on the ground.
Only up 50 cents by you? It's up over $1/gal here where I live.
Can’t get Blue Bell even a few miles from their creamery. Can’t get much ice cream, period. Hubby was on an ice cream kick and couldn’t find simple cookies ‘n cream. A couple months ago the only choice was Breyer’s and he was upset at getting the high priced brand. Barf! Has Breyer’s always tasted like sour rotten crap? Never again. It was so bad, hubby ended his ice cream craving right then and there.
Wednesday, a batch of homemade chocolate covered donuts soothed his sweet tooth.
TV cable prices have gone up the past couple months. We dropped down to basic and returned the $5/mo box and it’s still higher than what the before price was.
Yeah, I know, but it’s either cable or nothing out here.
Chocolate chips used to be 16 oz/bag but they dropped to 12 oz years ago.
A 3 lb. tub of margarine is now 42-45 oz.
Ah, the good old days when ice cream came in 5 qt buckets.
5 lb bags of sugar and flour are 4 lbs.
Tuna used to be 7.5 oz for the small cans and is now 5 oz with 50% liquid so you’re only getting 2.5 oz.
Coffee comes so sizes so you never know how much you’re really buying.
Canned fruits and veggies used to be 16 oz and are now as low as 10 oz.
Eggs have such thin shells, it’s hard to find a carton that doesn’t have at least one broken one.
TP rolls are getting smaller and more rough every day. I’m not fooled by the larger cardboard center section.
Cat food cans are so thin that they’re constantly smashed in the cartons. I throw out one or two from every box and have to check the lids are sealed and not popping.
So many products aren’t sealed well anymore. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing was completely open with no paper seal at the bottom of the lid. Many boxed products aren’t glued on the ends. Had to throw out 3 boxes of Fisherman fish because they didn’t have a plastic bag inside the poorly made box to keep them from getting freezer burn and turning rock hard. And, and, and...
Beware of those 8 oz or lb plastic box containers for berries. They’re too easy to open and can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people eating out of them. At least weigh them so you know no one has had their filthy hands inside and you’re paying for the full weight.
I did a search and what it looks like is the shortage is the electric car lithium batteries. Makes sense with all the big plans they have.
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