CLEVELAND — New inflation data released Thursday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics were hotter than analysts expected and prices climbed in September to a fresh 40-year high. Over the past year, overall inflation has climbed 8.2% and core inflation, which doesn’t include the oftentimes volatile prices of fuel and food, had risen by 6.6 percent, despite steps taken by the Federal Reserve.
Thursday’s data all but guarantees another interest rate hike in November and greatly increases the likelihood of another increase in December.
While the overall inflation data shows what has happened with consumer prices over the past 12 months, the month-to-month data provides more clarity as to how prices are changing in real time.
The story there isn’t much better.
Month to month, prices rose 0.4% in September and the “core” consumer price index, which doesn’t include fuel and food prices, rose 0.6 percent.
Drilling down further, the prices of food have seen some of the largest increases, up 11.2% over the past year. The price of flour is up 0.2%; apples 0.5%; lettuce 6.8%; potatoes 3.5% and margarine is up 4.2%.
For William Rosebud and his fiancée, Kimberly Carter, the steady rise in inflation has coincided with the start of their men’s clothing business, Bud’s Styling. Located at the corner of East 105 and Gooding Avenue in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood, the retail shop and its location are the culmination of a lifelong dream.
“I like clothes and I like fashion. I came back to Cleveland and I wanted to start my own business, a clothing store,” Rosebud said. “I wanted to start a business in my neighborhood.”
The business was born in July 2021 and so too was the couple’s other venture, a beauty salon, which is located in the same building.
“I’ve never seen a place where we can go in our neighborhood to get a suit or run up to the corner to get a dress,” Carter said. “We always have to go to the suburbs. We never had these opportunities in this neighborhood.”
Since opening, the business has had to contend with significant challenges, namely inflation and supply chain woes, Rosebud said.
“Merchandise went up because of the pandemic. The prices went up,” Rosebud said. “We ordered stuff last year and we’re still waiting on some of the stuff we ordered last year. We still waiting for some merchandise that we ordered last year.”
Increasing costs for raw materials and fuel have had a tremendous impact on all facets of the supply chain, ultimately resulting in higher costs for Rosebud when purchasing products from his vendors. He has but no choice to pass those prices onto his clients.
The supply chain constraints have created a whole host of other issues that are especially problematic in the world of fashion, Carter said.
“Winter is coming and they’re calling us saying we’re just now getting your summer stuff. We don’t need the summer stuff now. We need the winter stuff now,” Carter said. “Things that you’re sending us now are going to be different than next year. We have to bypass that and we have to wait until next year. It comes too late.”
Even receiving their deliveries has been a challenge. For about a year, a re-paving project on East 105th has eliminated most — if not all — of the on-street parking near their shops. The construction has stalled at times, Carter said, and it has severely impacted their business.
Despite the challenges, there is nowhere that the two Glenville natives would rather be.
“We enjoy doing what we’re doing. You just have to keep on going. You can’t just give up because you have obstacles that get in your way,” Carter said. “You just have to keep on going. We’re working with what we have and tryin to find a way to make this better.”
