This FIE Input Cost Index rose this week, up from 139 to 142.
Grain prices eased a bit. Corn fell to $4.97 a bushel after USDA’s Grain Stocks report put old-crop corn supplies 35% above last year. Harvest is still running late, with corn 23% harvested against a 27% average.
Boxed beef, on the other hand, increased to $379.38/cwt, a second straight weekly gain, after immigration enforcement at Kansas packing plants cut fed slaughter 16% on September 24. Those plants handle more than 20% of U.S. fed-cattle capacity.
Then there’s input inflation. The ISM Manufacturing Prices Index jumped 6.8 points to 77.9, back near its March level. Respondents cited steel, aluminum, tariffs, and petroleum-based products. Raw material prices have now risen for 24 straight months.
See this week’s score and the full breakdown on the FIE Input Cost Index.
