US Companies Caught in the Middle of High Oil Costs and Rising Inflation
American companies are struggling to set prices as soaring oil costs and tariff disputes drive up expenses.
Recent inflation data showed prices rising at a still-rapid pace, but businesses are torn between freezing and raising prices due to the uncertainty surrounding whether high-cost environment is temporary or structural.
Melissa Florio, co-president of Ambix Manufacturing, initially treated cost increases stemming from the war involving Iran as a temporary shock and held prices steady, but now sees them as a lasting source of cost pressure. She raised prices on all products by 10 to 21 percent this summer.
Jim Barber, who runs a third-generation farm in Pennsylvania, is taking the opposite view, keeping his prices unchanged saying 'everything will go back to normal once the situation in the Middle East stabilizes.'