Inflation Alert! u/x1pitviper1x makes a Taco Bell joke in a previous Inflation Alert! post and plants the seed for this post.
As the title says, this one is inspired by u/x1pitviper1x when I caught their comment while responding to another today:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/onftvx/inflation_alert_extreme_and_deadly_floods_close/h5rfmz3
Then read this:
https://www.today.com/food/taco-bell-has-been-hit-nationwide-ingredient-shortages-t226120
Taco Bell has been catching grief on social media for various items that it had run out of:
Taco Bell blamed transportation issues. A spokesperson told Today:
โDue to national transportation delays happening throughout most of the industry, we may temporarily be out of some items. Apologies for the inconvenience and we hope to feed fansโ current Taco Bell cravings again soon.โ
There is plenty of meat, but meatpackers are having one heck of a time hiring staff and packing their meat:
https://www.fooddive.com/news/meat-processors-wrestle-with-worker-shortages-as-us-economy-reopens-from-co/600941/
'could hire'=/= pay more and better conditions...
Also, I think the Job openings number may jump to its highest after MOASS, just a guess ;)
However, these issues are happening in the backdrop of the country opening up with extreme demand from restaurants, and meat prices are jumping!
Restaurants are paying whatever they need to in order to get the shipment so that they can serve their customers.
Even the CPI report for June caught this (above). The price of uncooked ground beef (up 3.4%), uncooked roast (up 5.0%), steak (up 6.0%), and Pork chops, roasts, and ribs jumped (up 5.0%).
Here's the thing, in the face of increasing prices, Americans just keep buying. Jack Hartung from Chipolte acknowledged customers aren't resisting the higher prices today on their earnings call:
https://www.reuters.com/article/chipotle-results-idAFL4N2OW38E
More price pressure for the inflation monster! I think what we are likely to see in the coming months is ups and downs of the monthly inflation rate that will give The Fed and politicians false hopes of declining inflation, followed by increases that obliterate these hopes.
Whatโs worse, as we covered before, we still donโt know the ACTUAL inflation rates because of the trickery around housing and how the BLS runs wild with overly liberal hedonic quality adjustments.
