#148 - Imports and Exports Costs Declining

Last week we reviewed the changes in prices from manufacturers and producers.  Based on the reports from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual increase of the Producer Price Index (PPI) declined in August to 2.6% Year over Year (YoY) compared to July's YoY annualized rate of 3.06%.  Today, we will look further into the supply chain processes at cost changes of imports to our US producers.  We will also look at export costs to our foreign partners as the changes will eventually impact US companies.  First, we will look at the import costs that will have a direct impact on the US inflation and consumer price index.  The US Bureau of Labor Statistics released this morning the US Import Price changes of their index.  The index increased 0.3% to 141.4 points in August but the index is down from the start of the year at 141.8.