Firms’ Inflation Forecasts And Business Environment Responses

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, pricing, 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 January 2023 BIE Survey dated January 11, 2023 (involving 152 firms responding):

  • Inflation expectations: Firms’ year-ahead inflation expectations remain relatively unchanged at 3.0 percent, on average.
  • Current economic environment: “Compared to normal,” sales levels remained relatively unchanged. However, profit margins “compared to normal” significantly decreased. Year-over-year unit cost growth remained relatively unchanged at 3.7 percent, on average.
  • Quarterly question: Firms’ sales gaps (percentage below “normal” unit sales levels) significantly decreased to 4.6 percent below normal. Small, medium, and large firms’ unit sales gaps decreased significantly.
  • Special question: Firms were asked about their most pressing concerns. A breakdown of the results can be found in the special question section below.

The report also includes other questions and 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.

Business Inflation Expectations Over The Short- And Long-Term

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, pricing, 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 December 2022 BIE Survey dated December 14, 2022 (involving 184 firms responding):

  • Inflation expectations: Firms’ year-ahead inflation expectations decreased significantly to 3.1 percent, on average.
  • Current economic environment: Sales levels “compared to normal” decreased over the month, and profit margins “compared to normal” remained unchanged over the month. Year-over-year unit cost growth decreased significantly to 3.8 percent, on average.
  • Quarterly question: Firms’ long-term (per year, over the next five to 10 years) inflation expectations remain relatively unchanged at 3.1 percent, on average.
  • Special question: Firms were asked about prices and costs associated with their most important good(s) or service(s) or the average prices and costs of their most important good(s) or services(s). They were also asked about their inflation expectations over the next 12 months. A breakdown of the results can be found in the special question section below.

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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.

Firms’ Responses To Questions Concerning Business Conditions

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, pricing, 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 November 2022 BIE Survey dated November 16, 2022 (involving 158 firms responding):

  • Inflation expectations: Firms’ year-ahead inflation expectations remain unchanged at 3.3 percent, on average.
  • Current economic environment: Sales levels “compared to normal” remain unchanged. Firms’ profit margins “compared to normal” increased. Year-over-year unit cost growth remains relatively unchanged at 4.0 percent, on average.
  • Quarterly question: Approximately 33 percent of firms expect both labor and nonlabor costs to have significant upward influence on prices. About 48 percent of firms expect sales levels to have little or no influence on prices over the next 12 months. Approximately 32 percent of firms expect margin adjustment to have moderate upward influence on prices over the next 12 months.
  • Special question: Firms were asked about the impact of interest rate increases on their businesses. They were also asked about their views on a hypothetical interest rate increase. A breakdown of the results can be found in the special question section below.

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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.

—–

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.

Firms’ Inflation Expectations For Year-Ahead And 5 Years Ahead

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, pricing, 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 October 2022 BIE Survey dated October 12, 2022 (involving 166 firms responding):

  • Inflation expectations: Firms’ year-ahead inflation expectations remain relatively unchanged at 3.3 percent, on average.
  • Current economic environment: “Compared to normal,” both sales levels and profit margins significantly increased. Year-over-year unit cost growth remained relatively unchanged at 4.1 percent, on average.
  • Quarterly question: Firms’ sales gaps (percentage below “normal” unit sales levels) remain relatively unchanged at 2.1 percent below normal. Small, medium, and large firms’ unit sales gaps increased significantly.
  • Special question: Firms were asked about their inflation expectations for both one year ahead and five years ahead.. They were also asked about the distribution of their labor force by skill level and a further question regarding the labor market. A breakdown of the results can be found in the special question section below.

The report also includes other questions and 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.

—–

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.

Firms’ Inflation Expectations For Both Year-Ahead And 5-10 Years

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, pricing, 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 September 2022 BIE Survey dated September 14, 2022 (involving 164 firms responding):

  • Inflation expectations: Firms’ year-ahead inflation expectations decreased significantly to 3.3 percent, on average.
  • Current economic environment: Sales levels “compared to normal” decreased over the month, and profit margins “compared to normal” increased over the month. Year-over-year unit cost growth decreased significantly to 4.1 percent, on average.
  • Quarterly question: Firms’ long-term (per year, over the next five to 10 years) inflation expectations decreased to 3.2 percent, on average.
  • Special question: Firms were asked about their typical, current, and year-ahead average monthly turnover rate. They were also asked about their ability to hire new employees. A breakdown of the results can be found in the special question section below.

The report also includes other questions and a variety of charts and tables depicting respondents’ answers.

_____

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.

—–

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.