The Price Of Inflation In The US In 2022

Inflation has been extremely mentioned within the US all through 2022, with information articles and earnings calls highlighting its influence on client spending. As we entered 2023, we requested ourselves, how far more did US customers spend attributable to elevated costs in 2022? Our evaluation reveals that:

In 2022, US customers spent an additional $1 trillion attributable to elevated costs.

How do we all know this? We analyzed private consumption expenditures (PCE) knowledge supplied by the US Bureau of Financial Evaluation (BEA). The BEA gives the info for nominal PCE and actual PCE.

A rise in nominal PCE in comparison with earlier years is because of modifications in each pricing and the quantity of products or companies. A rise in actual PCE in comparison with the earlier yr is because of modifications in quantity solely. Within the graphic beneath, “The Affect of Inflation within the US,” we see that:

• In 2022, nominal PCE spending elevated to $17.4 trillion, up from $15.9 trillion in 2021. Actual PCE spending rose to $14.1 trillion, up from $13.7 trillion in 2021.
• As such, nominal PCE spending elevated by $1.5 trillion in 2022 (once more, reflecting each pricing and volumes) whereas actual PCE spending elevated by solely $0.4 trillion (reflecting quantity solely).
• The distinction between the 2 — $1.1 trillion — is what US customers paid additional attributable to elevated costs alone. This determine is over 5 occasions the typical quantity that customers paid extra attributable to elevated costs in pre-COVID years.

What Did US Shoppers Spend That Cash On?

Wanting on the BEA PCE spending knowledge by class in 2022, US customers spent practically one-third of the whole PCE spend of $17.4 trillion on items and the remaining two-thirds on companies. Items spending elevated from $5.5 trillion in 2021 to $5.9 trillion in 2022, whereas companies spending elevated from $10.4 trillion in 2021 to $11.4 trillion in 2022.

The BEA breaks down items into sturdy versus nondurable items. Sturdy items have a shelf lifetime of three years or extra. In 2022, US customers spent practically one-third of the whole items spend on sturdy items and the remainder on nondurable items.

Right here’s the influence of inflation throughout completely different PCE classes:

1. Items versus companies. Of the $1.1 trillion that US customers spent additional attributable to elevated costs in 2022, US customers paid $468 billion additional attributable to elevated costs of products and $636 billion additional attributable to elevated costs of companies.
2. Sturdy items versus nondurable items. In 2022, nondurable items general grew to become dearer than sturdy items. US customers spent $335 billion extra attributable to elevated costs of nondurable items and $133 billion extra on sturdy items.
3. Nondurable items. The influence of inflation was very evident within the classes of gasoline, meals, and drinks. US customers paid $121 billion extra attributable to elevated costs of gasoline and different vitality items in 2022. Plus, US customers paid practically the identical quantity additional attributable to elevated costs of meals and drinks (please see “The Affect of Inflation by Class within the US in 2022” chart beneath).
4. Sturdy items. Motor automobiles and elements in addition to furnishings and sturdy family tools noticed the biggest improve in costs, with US customers paying $72 billion and $46 billion additional, respectively, for these two classes alone. Leisure items and automobiles noticed deflation. The costs of televisions, different video tools, and knowledge processing tools declined as an alternative of accelerating. Spending development in these classes was volume-driven, not inflation-driven.
5. Providers. Within the companies class, US customers spent $636 billion extra attributable to elevated costs, with housing and utilities, meals companies and lodging, well being care, transportation companies, and recreation companies seeing essentially the most vital influence.

Forrester can present additional insights on the expansion of US client spending in numerous classes throughout pre-COVID years and from 2020 to 2022, in addition to the greenback and proportion influence of inflation in numerous classes. In case you’re a Forrester consumer, please schedule an inquiry or steering session with me to study extra.