Inflation - 64%!!

[TPD]

As I was at the store this afternoon doing my weekly order, I came across this one example of price increases that really surprised me. What used to be our cheapest and best selling wheelbarrow has increased in price by almost 65% in just one year! It's just a 4cu.ft steel wheelbarrow that we sold for many years at $39.99. The price today is $81.99! Here is a timeline of the price increases:

September 2018 - $39.99
July 2019 - $48.99
June 2020 - $49.99
June 2021 - $64.99
September 2021 - $81.99

During Trump's 4 years, it increased 25%.
During Biden's 9 months, it increased 64%!
In 3 years it has more than doubled. Needless to say, we haven't sold many this year.

Steel Homeowner Wheelbarrow, 4-Cu. Ft. - True Value Hardware

Union Tools 4 cu.ft. Steel Homeowner Wheelbarrow. This durable wheelbarrow is made of steel and features a seamless steel tray for added strength. It comes with quick assembly poly risers, a 13″ wheel assembly with pneumatic 2 ply tire for easy maneuverability, and wood handles for a comfortable...

www.truevalue.com

 

[GURPS]

Yep .... Print MORE Money

 

[TPD]

It would make more sense to me to bring manufacturing back home. But what do I know - I'm just a stupid farmer/hardware store owner.

 

[HemiHauler]

Remind me: who placed tariffs on steel imports? I can never remember. But whomever that evil soul is -- that's where you should direct your ire.

 

[HemiHauler]

It would make more sense to me to bring manufacturing back home. But what do I know - I'm just a stupid farmer/hardware store owner.

That won't make it any less expensive. We have a fairly high standard of living here. I mean why in the hell do you think so much of our manufacturing base was offshored to China and other places? That's right, capitalism will chase cheap labor, as it's easy to exploit.


Oh and our unions here, which drive up the cost of labor and therefore the the retail prices of goods they manufacture.

 

[AnthonyJames]

What did Creepy Joe say when Jill reminded him to take his Aricept?

Remind me!

 

[AnthonyJames]

Who is solidly in the pocket of senile old white men?

Oh and our unions here, which drive up the cost of labor and therefore the the retail prices of goods they manufacture.

 

[black dog]

Remind me: who placed tariffs on steel imports? I can never remember. But whomever that evil soul is -- that's where you should direct your ire.

As a guy who owns a small fabrication/sanitary pipe welding business.....
Funny thing about the metals market, alloys I was buying pre Biden averaged 600-800 dollars a 4'x8' sheet. Now its 1800 to 1900 a sheet, all from a mill
in northern IN.

 

[vraiblonde]

Remind me: who placed tariffs on steel imports?

What does that have to do with the massive increase in gas and grocery prices?

Don't tell me, let me guess: you majored in Economics at the same school AOC went to?

 

[black dog]

Oh and our unions here, which drive up the cost of labor and therefore the the retail prices of goods they manufacture.

Funny thing about most unions, most worthwhile ones belong to the democrat run AFL- CIO...
The days of walking in to get a high paying union job are all but over. Unless one goes through his journeymenship into skilled trades. GM plants start at 16 bucks or less for line workers.
One town over used to have 26,000 GM, Delco, Fisher jobs. Pooof gone with Democrats NAFTA.
What happened to GM up off Hollibird in Baltimore? Bethlehem Steel and Wire Rope in Dundaulk?

Tens of thousands of great paying jobs gone.

 

[HemiHauler]

What does that have to do with the massive increase in gas and grocery prices?

Don't tell me, let me guess: you majored in Economics at the same school AOC went to?

And here I thought this was a comment about the retail prices of wheelbarrows due to the prices of steel. But hey, don't let an opportunity pass to take a swipe at your newest sworn life enemy.

But to address your point, the economy is awash with cash. There are many reasons for this, including quantitative easing (the largest and most obvious) and the fact that consumer personal savings skyrocketed during the first many months of the pandemic-related halt. Once things started to get moving again, all that excess cash is now being unleashed.

 

[HemiHauler]

As a guy who owns a small fabrication/sanitary pipe welding business.....
Funny thing about the metals market, alloys I was buying pre Biden averaged 600-800 dollars a 4'x8' sheet. Now its 1800 to 1900 a sheet, all from a mill
in northern IN.

Yes, tariffs caused this.

Here are some data on historical steel prices: http://steelbenchmarker.com/history.pdf

You will note that domestic steel is far, far, far more expensive than steel from the EU by a factor of around 1.5x. Even with Trump's 25% tariffs, it's still less expensive than domestic, but certainly increases the cost quite significantly for manufacturers/fabricators like yourself who need it as a raw material.

Further, the graph on page 4 will demonstrate that domestic steel used to more or less tracked the others until mid-2018 when Trump's tariffs were enacted. In theory, protectionism like this is good for domestic industry, as higher prices will spark investment in plant and equipment since higher prices signal profit opportunity. I prefer free and unfettered trade, to the extent it's possible, but this is precisely how tariffs and other barriers to trade should be used. They should be subtle and crafted to address very precise things. The exact opposite of Trump's tariffs.

Earlier this year, US Steel cancelled a planned $1bn expansion, an example of Trump's folly here:

U.S. Steel nixes $1 billion upgrades at Mon Valley Works facilities

Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel will cancel plans for more than $1 billion in upgrades and investment at the Mon Valley Works facilities, CEO David Burritt said in a letter to the community released Friday. The projects, worth more than $1.2 billion collectively, were announced just under two years...

triblive.com

For more background: https://www.industryweek.com/leader...ces-12-billion-investment-at-mon-valley-works

Thursday also saw President Donald Trump point to U.S. Steel's investment as proof that steel tariffs are working. In a Thursday tweet he said, "Congrats to @U_S_Steel for investing $1+ BILLION in America's most INNOVATIVE steel mill. 232 Tariffs make Pennsylvania and USA more prosperous/secure by bringing Steel and Aluminum industries BACK. Tariffs are working."

Now, the next obvious point to address: But Trump isn't president any longer, doesn't Biden now own this if he didn't cancel these tariffs immediately on swearing in?

To an extent, yes. But first, Biden lacks an education in economics and leans protectionist. He surrounds himself with advisers who think similarly. He believes heavily in tariffs to shore up/protect some domestic industry. He pretends to be a blue collar dude, as laughable as that notion might be, and signals that he's all in for using tariffs (and other trade mechanisms) to help. However, strange as it might sound, it's not really an option to announce on Day One that Biden was going to end the steel tariffs. Why? Retaliatory tariffs or other trade actions. In other words, when Trump announced the steel tariffs, other ones were put in place by the EU to retaliate. They may not be willing to drop those immediately the moment we delete the steel tariffs, for example, as they may service a particular goal and may in fact be working out swimmingly for them.

So, we end up having to negotiate our way out of these steel tariffs. "We will drop our steel tariffs if you stop doing X, Y, or Z." And that's precisely what's happening now.

 

[black dog]

Yes, tariffs caused this.

Here are some data on historical steel prices: http://steelbenchmarker.com/history.pdf

You will note that domestic steel is far, far, far more expensive than steel from the EU by a factor of around 1.5x. Even with Trump's 25% tariffs, it's still less expensive than domestic, but certainly increases the cost quite significantly for manufacturers/fabricators like yourself who need it as a raw material.

Further, the graph on page 4 will demonstrate that domestic steel used to more or less tracked the others until mid-2018 when Trump's tariffs were enacted. In theory, protectionism like this is good for domestic industry, as higher prices will spark investment in plant and equipment since higher prices signal profit opportunity. I prefer free and unfettered trade, to the extent it's possible, but this is precisely how tariffs and other barriers to trade should be used. They should be subtle and crafted to address very precise things. The exact opposite of Trump's tariffs.

Earlier this year, US Steel cancelled a planned $1bn expansion, an example of Trump's folly here:

U.S. Steel nixes $1 billion upgrades at Mon Valley Works facilities

Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel will cancel plans for more than $1 billion in upgrades and investment at the Mon Valley Works facilities, CEO David Burritt said in a letter to the community released Friday. The projects, worth more than $1.2 billion collectively, were announced just under two years...

triblive.com

For more background: https://www.industryweek.com/leader...ces-12-billion-investment-at-mon-valley-works



Now, the next obvious point to address: But Trump isn't president any longer, doesn't Biden now own this if he didn't cancel these tariffs immediately on swearing in?

To an extent, yes. But first, Biden lacks an education in economics and leans protectionist. He surrounds himself with advisers who think similarly. He believes heavily in tariffs to shore up/protect some domestic industry. He pretends to be a blue collar dude, as laughable as that notion might be, and signals that he's all in for using tariffs (and other trade mechanisms) to help. However, strange as it might sound, it's not really an option to announce on Day One that Biden was going to end the steel tariffs. Why? Retaliatory tariffs or other trade actions. In other words, when Trump announced the steel tariffs, other ones were put in place by the EU to retaliate. They may not be willing to drop those immediately the moment we delete the steel tariffs, for example, as they may service a particular goal and may in fact be working out swimmingly for them.

So, we end up having to negotiate our way out of these steel tariffs. "We will drop our steel tariffs if you stop doing X, Y, or Z." And that's precisely what's happening now.

President Trump removed Canada and Mexicos..... Nevermind....
Damn... One would have thought if President Trumps Steel and Aluminum Tariffs were doing all this your boys handlers would have Exective Ordered them out of existence eight months ago.
Funny how all the years before when this happens its with mills shuting down or someone like our Government is buying all of certain alloys being produced....

 

[HemiHauler]

One would have thought if President Trumps Steel and Aluminum Tariffs were doing all this your boys handlers would have Exective Ordered them out of existence eight months ago.

If only I had addressed that EXACT POINT in my post to which you responded and quoted.

You can lead a horse to water....

 

[vraiblonde]

And here I thought this was a comment about the retail prices of wheelbarrows due to the prices of steel. But hey, don't let an opportunity pass to take a swipe at your newest sworn life enemy.

Don't flatter yourself.

My understanding is that this thread is about inflation in general, and TPD used wheelbarrows as an example.

Wait...lemme check.....

As I was at the store this afternoon doing my weekly order, I came across this one example of price increases that really surprised me.

Yep, it appears to have been an example.

You suggested that steel tariffs are to blame, so I was simply asking for your expert opinion on why groceries and gas and everything else are skyrocketing in price as well.

 

[HemiHauler]

Don't flatter yourself.

My understanding is that this thread is about inflation in general, and TPD used wheelbarrows as an example.

Wait...lemme check.....



Yep, it appears to have been an example.

You suggested that steel tariffs are to blame, so I was simply asking for your expert opinion on why groceries and gas and everything else are skyrocketing in price as well.

Understand now.

As it turns out, I addressed that as well.

 

[black dog]

Don't flatter yourself.

My understanding is that this thread is about inflation in general, and TPD used wheelbarrows as an example.

Wait...lemme check.....



Yep, it appears to have been an example.

You suggested that steel tariffs are to blame, so I was simply asking for your expert opinion on why groceries and gas and everything else are skyrocketing in price as well.

Geepers.. Its all President Trumps fault or maybe one of the Bushes...

 

[Kyle]

Geepers.. Its all President Trumps fault or maybe one of the Bushes...

Just like the hurricanes, tornad... whirley-swirley things, fires, floods... Global wa...climate changes.

 

[Monello]

I can hear biden's* next speech. "We're # 1 in the world for our rate of inflation. The previous administration neglected our inflation. But I was able to turn that ship around."

 

[Kyle]

I can hear biden's* next speech. "We're # 1 in the world for our rate of inflation. The previous administration neglected our inflation. But I was able to turn that ship around."

Jeff Goldblum in Thor: Ragnarok.