Economy

Atlanta Fed Survey Sees Inflation at 1.9 Percent for Coming Year
Written by Sandy Williams
May 13, 2015
After remaining at 1.7 percent since January, Atlanta area firms surveyed in May are now expecting inflation to rise at a 1.9 percent rate in the coming year. Compared to this time last year unit costs are up 1.6 percent. The Business Inflation Survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is monthly survey that measures year-ahead inflationary expectations, pricing pressures and general business conditions.
Current sales levels showed improvement in May with 71 percent indicating sales levels at or above normal. Profit margins were unchanged with 59 percent indicating margins at or above normal.
Labor costs are expected to put moderate or strong upward pressure on prices in the next 12 months according to 69 percent of those surveyed. Compensation costs are increasing for 67 percent of those surveyed with 81 percent of that group partially passing costs on to customers. Other factors influencing upward price changes are non-labor costs and sales levels
The survey data and charts may be accessed at www.frbatlanta.org/research/inflationproject/bie.aspx

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Economy

Steel groups welcome passage of budget bill
Steel trade groups praised the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) in Congress on Thursday.

Industry groups praise Senate for passing tax and budget bill
The Steel Manufacturers Association and the American Iron and Steel Institute applauded the tax provisions included in the Senate's tax and budget reconciliation bill.

Chicago PMI dips 0.1 points in June
The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) slipped 0.1 points to 40.4 points, in June.

Multi-family pullback drives housing starts to 5-year low in May
US housing starts tumbled in May to a five-year low, according to figures recently released by the US Census Bureau.

Architecture firms still struggling, ABI data shows
Architecture firms reported a modest improvement in billings through May, yet business conditions remained soft, according to the latest Architecture Billings Index (ABI) release from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek.