EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Inflation pushing nearly 90% firms to raise prices in 2023.
In a new Forbes/Xometry/John Zogby Strategies survey shared with Secrets about the impact of inflation and the continued supply chain crisis under President Biden, 87% of manufacturing CEOs said they planned to increase prices in 2023.
Many cited the ongoing supply chain crisis, problems getting materials from China, and sellers taking advantage of the economic mess to jack up prices.
“Our margins are under pressure as costs creep up throughout the supply-chain network,” one CEO told the poll conducted by Jeremy Zogby, the managing partner of John Zogby Strategies.
Nearly half of the 150 CEOs polled said they had already begun to raise prices to consumers by as much as 20%.
“The poll of 150 manufacturing CEOs surveyed in late August found that nearly half of companies (45%) had passed on the costs of inflation to customers today, while 38% said they had avoided doing so and 17% said their companies absorbed the costs despite the financial hit. With inflation running above 8% in August, the vast majority of executives polled who had passed on the costs of inflation (80%) said that they increased their prices between 5% and 15%. Twelve percent said they hiked prices between 15% and 20%,” said the poll analysis.
Inflation and the concerns about a recession surged this year, shocking the public and the Biden administration which had earlier shrugged it off as a momentary crisis. Some experts see it continuing to the presidential election, with a handful predicting a recession or worse.
Zogby said in his analysis that the surge in prices has already started to drive away customers.
“Those price increases had an impact. More than half (55%) said they had lost customers over the past year due to price increases, while nearly one in five (19%) have cut their workforce to keep costs in line,” he wrote.
Politically, inflation is a huge red warning light. In a new Ipsos survey, concerns about the economy dominate all other issues for voters.
And should.
Related: Why Team Biden might be purposefully grinding down the middle class.