The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta publishes a monthly report titled “Business Inflation Expectations” (BIE) that contains statistics from a survey of regional businesses’ views on various factors that impact profitability. These factors include unit costs, unit cost expectations, sales levels, profit margins, and other factors.
As described on the site:
Approximately 300 panelists receive the survey each month. Panelists represent businesses of various sizes headquartered within the Sixth District, which encompasses Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and sections of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Panelists range from executives of large corporations to owner-operators of small businesses. The industry composition of the panel roughly reflects the makeup of the national economy. Nevertheless, survey responses are weighted by industry shares of national gross domestic product.
An excerpt from the May 2016 BIE Survey dated May 18, 2016 (involving 207 firms responding):
Respondents indicated that, on average, they expect unit costs to rise 1.9 percent over the next 12 months. Inflation uncertainty was virtually unchanged at 2.4 percent. Firms also report that, compared to this time last year, their unit costs are up 1.5 percent. Respondents’ sales levels, compared to what they consider normal conditions, declined overall to a diffusion index value of -11 compared to -8 in April. Profit margins also declined, with a diffusion index value of -24 compared to -16 in April.
This month’s “quarterly question” concerned factors influencing price change. An excerpt:
Seventy percent of respondents indicated that labor costs will put moderate or strong upward pressure on their prices over the next 12 months. Respondents’ expectations regarding the influence of nonlabor costs on prices increased from the last measure, with 59 percent of respondents indicating upward price pressure. Thirty-eight percent of respondents expect sales levels to put moderate or strong upward pressure on prices in the year ahead. The majority of firms expect productivity and margin adjustments to have little or no influence over prices in the next 12 months.
This month’s “special question” had to do with the firms’ assessments of hiring difficulty and its impact on wage and benefit offerings.
The report also includes a variety of charts and tables depicting respondents’ answers.
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RevSD, LLC offers the above commentary for informational purposes only, and does not necessarily agree with all (or any) of the views expressed by these outside parties.
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ProfitabilityIssues.com is published by RevSD, LLC. RevSD, LLC is a management consulting firm and strategic advisory that focuses on the analysis of current and future business conditions, and given these conditions, offers corporations and businesses advice, strategies, and actionable methods on how to optimally increase revenues and profitability.