August 15, 1996
Lei Zhou, Graduate Assistant and Philip L. Paarlberg, Associate Professor
David Broomhall, Extension Economist
George F. Patrick, Extension Economist and Christine M. Hamaker, former Research Assistant
H. Atkinson, Professor and Kim Cook, Research Associate
Energy costs surged across both reports this month — diesel fuel up 24.1 percent, gasoline up 3.9 percent — in a single month. At the same time, food inflation sat almost exactly where it sat in July, and the most upstream producer-price stage swung through a wider range than the stage nearest the consumer has moved in three months combined. A real, measurable energy shock landing squarely in the data, alongside a food pipeline that barely moved, is the sharpest evidence yet for the thesis this series has been building since spring.
READ MORE about The August 2026 CPI and PPI Reports: The Late-July Energy Spike Arrives, and the Food Pipeline Still HoldsThis is a targeted policy aimed at a narrow slice of the beef market — imported product for ground beef, much of which is lean processing beef — rather than a broad intervention in the fed-cattle market. It was announced in response to historically tight cattle supplies and unusually high beef prices. Within that narrow lane, the most plausible effect is some additional availability of lower-cost processing beef and some downward pressure on ground-beef prices.
READ MORE about The August 2026 Beef Import Waiver: A Narrow Tool Aimed at a Narrow ProblemEnergy prices are 14.7 percent above year-ago levels, and yet the raw agricultural commodities that sit at the head of the food pipeline are cheaper than they were last July. That combination is the whole story of this month’s release — but it is not evidence that the energy shock missed agriculture.
READ MORE about The July 2026 CPI and PPI Reports: The Energy Shock Bypasses the Food Pipeline