SITUATION. Ingredient suppliers see longer lead times. | Photo: Pixabay.
During the last 18 months, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, certain phrases have highlighted the increase in food prices in the United States, including “turbulence and volatility” and “unprecedented times”, but one of the main it is “supply chain disruption.”
The context: Food producers have struggled with shortages, bottlenecks, and transportation problems; the weather and labor, all of which have caused prices to rise. Wholesale inflation rose 8.3% last month from August 2020, the Labor Department reported Friday.
- The indicator marks the largest annual gain since the department began calculating the figure in 2010.
- Those costs are passed on to consumers: meat, poultry, fish and eggs increased by 5.9% compared to last year; and 15.7% more than prices in July 2019, before the pandemic.
And now that? In general, ingredient suppliers see longer lead times due to understaffing, product shortages, and the unpredictability of container shipping by trucks and ships. Sometimes they last 8 to 12 weeks.
- Meanwhile, food manufacturers are paralyzed waiting for ingredients for their products, according to Rifle Hughes, a business partner for innovation and strategy at JPG Resources.
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday reported an additional overall food price increase of 0.4% in August compared to July.
Main source of the news: The Washington Post.
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