Ocean freight had fallen for four straight weeks. This week it reversed, worsening conditions for food manufacturers running on tight margins.
The FIE Input Cost Index climbed again, the second increase in three weeks. Boxed beef posted back-to-back weekly gains for the first time in months. Grain firmed across corn, wheat, and soybeans, with the soybean contract rolling from its August to September position. ISM’s Prices Paid index held flat for a third straight week, still waiting on August’s reading, due September 1.
The freight reversal is the one to watch heading into Q4. Four weeks of falling rates just ended, and fall shipping season is about to test whether that was a blip or the start of something longer.
See this week’s full component breakdown and five months of trend data in our Input Cost Index.
