Each month we post an overview article that covers our recent company articles, announcements, and insights. Below is for the month of May.
Will Labor Cost Increases Reduce Soon?
Business owners and managers are being confronted with upward labor cost pressures, and for many it appears there is no end in sight for these increases.
With labor being one of largest expense categories on most company financial statements, these price increases have a material effect on the performance of companies. Many retailers reported their earnings last week, and attributed performance misses to increased costs for labor as well as other expense categories.
Businesses need to evaluate the labor and benefits costs and identify ways to maintain strong employees while not sending the company’s performance into a tailspin.
Read more below!
Will Food Prices Continue to Increase, & What Does that Mean for the Food and Agribusiness Sector?
The food and agribusiness sector of the economy is experiencing serious increases in prices based on the data from the April 2022 CPI and PPI.
The April CPI indicates that while the overall index was 8.3%, food was 9.4% with food at home reporting a 10.8% year over year increase and food away from home reporting a 7.2% increase.
The April 2022 PPI reported an overall increase of 11.0% with food increasing 16.3%.
Also of note, while the overall indices were flat or dropped slightly from March to April, the food categories increased month over month.
What else is contributing to these inflationary pressures?
What can borrowers and lenders do?
Read the full article to find out!
Who is Immune to the Changes in the New and Used Vehicle Industry?
The short answer to this question is – no persons and no companies are immune to the new and used vehicle industry impacts on the economy. The long answer is – the impacts vary in intensity and vary in speed of impact and length of impact.
The CPI tracks changes in the prices of new and used vehicles. While the overall April CPI was 8.3%, the new vehicle component was higher at a 13.2% year over year increase.
In January of 2022, Kelley Blue Book reported the average price of a new car reached an all-time high of $47,000. Assuming a 13.2% increase in price, a car that cost $40,000 in April of 2021 would cost $45,280 in April of 2022.
The price of used cars has increased faster than the price of new cars. The CPI for used cars and trucks is reported at 22.7% in April of 2022. A used car costing $40,000 in April of 2021 would cost $49,080 in April of 2022.
Clearly these price increases are material and are impacting consumers and businesses as direct cost increases.
Take a look at the metrics in the article!