Geee Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Chicago Sun-Times:Looking at the rows and rows of products lining supermarket shelves, it’s nice to see that at least some prices haven’t risen. Look at the package that the product comes in, however, and it becomes clear that stickers aren’t telling the whole story.Major manufacturers of consumer goods are again coping with rising commodity costs by cutting back on portion sizes, chipping away a few ounces here and taking out a few slices there rather than ask the customer to pay more. But the net effect is just as costly.Ivory dish detergent has dropped its 30-ounce bottle down to 24 ounces, a 20 percent reduction. A can of Hills Brothers coffee that once held 34.5 ounces now contains just 27.8 — a 19.4 percent cut.Manufacturers say such moves are their best option for coping with costs that are soaring, not only for the product, but also for the materials that go into the packaging. Those costs — from commodities to fuel — are expected to continue climbing through 2011.“Your raw materials are going up. Something’s gotta give,” said JoAnn Hines, a Georgia-based packaging industry consultant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pollyannaish Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 This is a big deal. I've been noticing that things that I needed one box, bottle or can of before now require me to buy two to make enough...which means the price doubles. In addition, we used to be able to get quite a bit for $40. Often enough to get us through a week, but we're finding that amount gets us through about three or four days instead. There is HUGE inflation in food right now and anyone who shops is feeling it. I don't know where they are getting their statistics that say that food prices have remained steady...but they wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casino67 Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Damn, and all this time I thought my hands were getting bigger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geee Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 This is a big deal. I've been noticing that things that I needed one box, bottle or can of before now require me to buy two to make enough...which means the price doubles. In addition, we used to be able to get quite a bit for $40. Often enough to get us through a week, but we're finding that amount gets us through about three or four days instead. There is HUGE inflation in food right now and anyone who shops is feeling it. I don't know where they are getting their statistics that say that food prices have remained steady...but they wrong. I used to deposit the same amount into our checking account each month. Mr. Geee and I both get social security now and I still have to deposit more. There is stealth inflation taking place in many things. Besides people being unemployed other people who rely on interest for income are screwed. That is the other side of this low interest rate coin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pollyannaish Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 This is a big deal. I've been noticing that things that I needed one box, bottle or can of before now require me to buy two to make enough...which means the price doubles. In addition, we used to be able to get quite a bit for $40. Often enough to get us through a week, but we're finding that amount gets us through about three or four days instead. There is HUGE inflation in food right now and anyone who shops is feeling it. I don't know where they are getting their statistics that say that food prices have remained steady...but they wrong. I used to deposit the same amount into our checking account each month. Mr. Geee and I both get social security now and I still have to deposit more. There is stealth inflation taking place in many things. Besides people being unemployed other people who rely on interest for income are screwed. That is the other side of this low interest rate coin. Absolutely. I don't blame the food manufacturers for this, because they need to hang on as well. But I do blame the government (with the corroboration of most of the media) for what appears to be a statistical coverup of what is actually happening. For as long as I can remember, the media has clung to the meme that when the GOP is in charge things are bad, and when the Dems are in charge things are good. This is shaking that world view up pretty significantly. It will be interesting to see if things change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SrWoodchuck Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Sweet Eileen, with 40 years of retail grocery experience this year, says: Dog food was down-sized 5 years ago, coffee in the can-3 years ago, orange juice-2 years ago, laundry detergents about 4 years ago & again this year......the only thing that has not been down-sized so far is a dozen eggs. You can't print a trillion dollars on a "socialist whim" & "buy" back your Chinese debt; and expect that all that extra "money" won't dilute the dollar's purchase power.......but, that's apparently the point.....along with allowing oil prices to increase, along with stopping all domestic oil production. Top down, bottom up & a good crisis = One World Government. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepper Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 SrWoodchuck "dozen eggs." But the hens can sure lay them smaller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SrWoodchuck Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 SrWoodchuck "dozen eggs." But the hens can sure lay them smaller. Pepper! Picayune progressive petite poultry products planning; provokes partisan protests! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickydog Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Another good one, SrWoodchuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clearvision Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Coming soon the "Grocer's" Dozen This is not a photoshop, but a packaging size now available from a packaging company... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pollyannaish Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Coming soon the "Grocer's" Dozen This is not a photoshop, but a packaging size now available from a packaging company... Hmmm. I wonder if that is going to catch on. I'm not sure I would notice until I got home and looked closely. What this does mean is that the Baker is a kind and generous fellow...but the grocer is a cheatin' skinflint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SrWoodchuck Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Coming soon the "Grocer's" Dozen This is not a photoshop, but a packaging size now available from a packaging company... Clearvision! I'm buying a couple of chickens! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rheo Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Coming soon the "Grocer's" Dozen This is not a photoshop, but a packaging size now available from a packaging company... Hmmm. I wonder if that is going to catch on. I'm not sure I would notice until I got home and looked closely. What this does mean is that the Baker is a kind and generous fellow...but the grocer is a cheatin' skinflint. Honey, at your age, you gotta count the eggs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestVirginiaRebel Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Apparently they're assuming people don't know how to count... I wonder if the demand for biofuels is having anything to do with this. Will there be some sort of rationing in the future, and food riots? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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