In case you haven’t noticed, prices for food have been going up a lot lately, right in step with gasoline prices. I know you, like me, are amazed at what you pay today for your weekly grocery cart of food compared to a few months ago.
You may already be seeing or receiving supplier announcements of price increases for products and service items you sell or use everyday in your business. Many OPE manufacturers, if they haven’t already, will soon be announcing price increases for replacement parts and issuing new price lists that will take effect almost immediately. Many won’t be waiting as they usually do until fall or the end of the selling season for an annual price increase.
An article in the UK newspaper, The Guardian, on May 19, stated that global steel prices are up 40% since the beginning of 2008. While many companies had long-term contracts with raw materials suppliers that locked in prices through the first half of the year, they will soon be expiring and there will be a lot of pressure to pass on some of the increased costs to customers.
If surges in the price of steel, energy and other commodities continue, we’ll be seeing multiple supplier price increases this year. Be vigilant. Don’t hesitate to pass on price increases to protect your margins and protect the viability of your business. Make sure your customer service and support makes you stand out from your competitors and justifies your pricing. Pay attention more than ever to the “details” of your business. “Working smarter” was never more important than it is today.
With commodity prices like copper, zinc and nickel going the roof, Congress will most likely soon give their approval to begin making pennies and nickels from steel. Steel is still nowhere as expensive as these other metals, so pennies and nickels will be clad in alloy to look the same, but won’t have copper and nickel in them anymore. Switching to steel will save the government about $100 million a year. How come I have this feeling that we won’t be benefiting from that extra $100 million that becomes available annually. Oh well. I suppose this also means we won’t be seeing a copper lawnmower anytime soon.
Over the years I’ve been fortunate to have heard Jeff Thredgold, an economic futurist, talk several times at association annual meetings. Jeff puts out a weekly economic newsletter called the “Tea Leaf,” which is free, to the point and easy to read plus it’s full of interesting and thought provoking economic opinion and information. Recently he had this comment about the value of education or lack thereof on employment statistics this year:
“As nearly always, education level is commensurate with employment. Those with a bachelor’s degree or higher had a jobless rate of 2.1% in April, while those with some college or an associate’s degree had a 3.9% jobless rate. High school graduates with no college had a jobless rate of 5.0%, while those with less than a high school diploma had a 7.8% jobless rate.”
As former Harvard President Derek Bok once stated, “If you think education is expensive…try ignorance.”
If you would like some regular insight into what’s going on in our economy, you can subscribe for free to the “Tea Leaf” at http://www.thredgold.com/html/leaf.html .
In a desperate attempt to stabilize a faltering economy, Zimbabwean authorities recently introduced a new $50 million bank note. The new note is worth roughly one American dollar and buys just three loaves of bread. Imagine the things you could buy here in the US with a $50 million dollar bill and the looks you would get when you pulled it out to pay for something. You could have a thin wallet or light pocketbook, but getting change back could be a real problem!
Italian manufacturer Pramac Industries just bought many of the assets of Powermate and the rights to use the name. They better be quick as many generator manufactures are trying to quickly fill the Powermate product void in the large national retailer marketplace.
A lot of smart people over the past several years have gotten into the portable generator business, mostly by importing product from China or buying or investing in domestic manufacturers. One would think that marketplace was getting rather crowded about now. I’m very glad it’s their money and not mine. The portable generator business can be very fickle and painful when consumers don’t have a reason to buy one.
You may already be seeing or receiving supplier announcements of price increases for products and service items you sell or use everyday in your business. Many OPE manufacturers, if they haven’t already, will soon be announcing price increases for replacement parts and issuing new price lists that will take effect almost immediately. Many won’t be waiting as they usually do until fall or the end of the selling season for an annual price increase.
An article in the UK newspaper, The Guardian, on May 19, stated that global steel prices are up 40% since the beginning of 2008. While many companies had long-term contracts with raw materials suppliers that locked in prices through the first half of the year, they will soon be expiring and there will be a lot of pressure to pass on some of the increased costs to customers.
If surges in the price of steel, energy and other commodities continue, we’ll be seeing multiple supplier price increases this year. Be vigilant. Don’t hesitate to pass on price increases to protect your margins and protect the viability of your business. Make sure your customer service and support makes you stand out from your competitors and justifies your pricing. Pay attention more than ever to the “details” of your business. “Working smarter” was never more important than it is today.
With commodity prices like copper, zinc and nickel going the roof, Congress will most likely soon give their approval to begin making pennies and nickels from steel. Steel is still nowhere as expensive as these other metals, so pennies and nickels will be clad in alloy to look the same, but won’t have copper and nickel in them anymore. Switching to steel will save the government about $100 million a year. How come I have this feeling that we won’t be benefiting from that extra $100 million that becomes available annually. Oh well. I suppose this also means we won’t be seeing a copper lawnmower anytime soon.
Over the years I’ve been fortunate to have heard Jeff Thredgold, an economic futurist, talk several times at association annual meetings. Jeff puts out a weekly economic newsletter called the “Tea Leaf,” which is free, to the point and easy to read plus it’s full of interesting and thought provoking economic opinion and information. Recently he had this comment about the value of education or lack thereof on employment statistics this year:
“As nearly always, education level is commensurate with employment. Those with a bachelor’s degree or higher had a jobless rate of 2.1% in April, while those with some college or an associate’s degree had a 3.9% jobless rate. High school graduates with no college had a jobless rate of 5.0%, while those with less than a high school diploma had a 7.8% jobless rate.”
As former Harvard President Derek Bok once stated, “If you think education is expensive…try ignorance.”
If you would like some regular insight into what’s going on in our economy, you can subscribe for free to the “Tea Leaf” at http://www.thredgold.com/html/leaf.html .
In a desperate attempt to stabilize a faltering economy, Zimbabwean authorities recently introduced a new $50 million bank note. The new note is worth roughly one American dollar and buys just three loaves of bread. Imagine the things you could buy here in the US with a $50 million dollar bill and the looks you would get when you pulled it out to pay for something. You could have a thin wallet or light pocketbook, but getting change back could be a real problem!
Italian manufacturer Pramac Industries just bought many of the assets of Powermate and the rights to use the name. They better be quick as many generator manufactures are trying to quickly fill the Powermate product void in the large national retailer marketplace.
A lot of smart people over the past several years have gotten into the portable generator business, mostly by importing product from China or buying or investing in domestic manufacturers. One would think that marketplace was getting rather crowded about now. I’m very glad it’s their money and not mine. The portable generator business can be very fickle and painful when consumers don’t have a reason to buy one.
