Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC

 

 

It turns out that all of the “doom and gloomers” that were warning that we would eventually experience nightmarish inflation were right after all.  In particular, vehicle prices have become exceedingly painful in recent months.  Due to a crippling global shortage of computer chips, production of new vehicles is way down, and a lot of that demand has shifted into the used vehicle market.  Over the past year, used vehicle prices have escalated at a pace that we have never seen before in our entire history, and things reached a crescendo during the month of October.  If you can believe it, used vehicle prices increased by 9.2 percent last month…

 

The industry’s key index of used vehicle prices jumped another 9.2% over the span of just a month. That puts the index 38% higher than a year ago — compared to “just” 27% for the same stat in September.

 

If used vehicle prices rose by 9.2 percent for an entire year, that would be really bad.

 

For that to happen in just one month is simply breathtaking.

 

Overall, used vehicle prices are up a total of 38 percent over the past year, and they are now up a total of 59 percent since October 2019.

 

So if you purchased a new vehicle within the past couple of years, it may now be worth more than when it was brand new.

 

To fully appreciate the insanity that we are seeing in used vehicle prices, I would encourage you to check out this chart.

 

If that isn’t “hyperinflation”, what would you call it?

 

I can’t imagine that used vehicle prices will continue to rise at an exponential pace like this, but “experts” have been saying the same thing for months and prices just continue to accelerate.

 

The funny thing is that used vehicle prices usually go down in October…

 

October typically sees above average vehicle depreciation and therefore used price declines. This October was the first October in the history of the Manheim Index data, which dates to 1997, to see a non-seasonally adjusted price increase in October.

 

Of course we are seeing very painful inflation in other sectors of the economy as well.

 

For example, some meat prices are up “about 40% from a year ago”…

 

Supermarkets say shoppers are buying more store-brand meat products and trading down from beef to less-expensive alternatives such as chicken or pork, after prices for products such as rib-eye climbed about 40% from a year ago, according to research firm IRI. Some consumers are replacing boneless chicken breast with cheaper bone-in chicken, retailers said.

 

As food prices continue to soar, eventually it will get to a point where big corporations are putting armed guards on food trucks in order to protect deliveries from being hijacked.

 

The worst supply chain crisis in American history is one of the primary reasons why prices are beginning to spiral out of control.

 

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