The “Producer Price Index” (PPI) is essentially the tracking of wholesale prices at three stages: Origination (commodity), Intermediate (processing), and then Final (to wholesale). Today, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) released the May 2022 price data [Available Here] showing another 10.8% increase year-over-year in Final Demand products at the wholesale level.
The inflation within the total goods supply chain continues to accumulate at a more significant rate than the finished goods on the store shelves. This means replacement goods will continue arriving with higher prices than current. Final demand goods in May were 1.4% higher than April (16.8% annualized). And the May year-over-year prices show a 10.8% increase [See Table A]. However, there’s more trouble ahead:

More troubling than the final demand price increases (wholesale finished goods), are the price increases in the intermediate goods and unprocessed raw materials.
Intermediate processed goods increased 2.3% in May (27.6% annualized). The intermediate unprocessed goods, raw materials, jumped even higher in price at 6.3% for May (that’s a whopping 75.6% annualized increase). It would appear the raw materials coming into the goods sector are coming in with even higher built-in energy costs than most people anticipated.
Once those intermediate products reach the final demand stage (wholesale), the cumulative price increase will mean even higher consumer prices.


Ukraine forces are running out of supplies as the U.S. State Dept. tries to organize the battle formations on behalf of U.S. interests in the country. The Russian advances are slow, methodical and very deliberate. The Ukraine military is losing ground and Zelenskyy is calling for more western help urgently.