The firms participating in the Atlanta Fed's Business Inflation Expectations survey (BIE survey) expect unit costs to increase by 1.9 percent over the next twelve months. This measure is virtually unchanged from the 1.8 percent expectation in January.

Firms also indicated that sales levels and profit margins remain well below normal but that sales levels will be putting more upward pressure on their prices over the next 12 months.

Year-Ahead Unit Inflation Expectations and Uncertainty, percent

Additional detail:

  • This month's special question asked respondents about the frequency at which their products and/or services change prices. On average, approximately one-third of firms' products and/or services change prices only once per year. For a complete breakdown of the results, follow this link to visit the BIE survey site.