Amid rising costs hitting consumer packaged goods companies from nearly every direction, the Consumer Brands Association called on the Biden-Harris administration to address mounting pressures by implementing five federal actions. Unforeseen cost increases are affecting manufacturing of the products Americans rely on every day – evidenced by April’s Producer Price Index numbers that were the highest since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking the data – creating “an environment of unpredictability with growing concerns over inflation and shortages.”
In a letter to National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, Consumer Brands President and CEO Geoff Freeman shared that the CPG industry is “experiencing the perfect storm, with ingredients, materials, transportation and labor costs skyrocketing at a time when consumer demand is surging to levels not seen since March 2020.”
“Rapidly rising costs are the worst-case outcome for CPG supply chains already made vulnerable by COVID-19 response,” Freeman said. “The Biden-Harris administration’s ongoing efforts to strengthen American infrastructure will be most effective when coupled with actions that address current cost pressures.”
The letter calls for five immediate federal actions that will alleviate cost pressures faced by CPG supply chains making essential products:
- Assess department and agency resources to ensure efficient clearances, inspections, safety checks and other required actions do not create avoidable supply chain delays, like understaffed ports of entry.
- Facilitate return to work and participation in skills education programs by incentivizing states to create greater flexibility to unemployment and assistance programs.
- Update workplace guidance and protocols to reflect the current vaccinated workforce, while continuing public campaigns to foster vaccine acceptance.
- Fast-track modernization of truck size and weight rules and preserve current Hours of Service regulations to make better use of existing capacity and stabilize the transportation marketplace.
- Accelerate Federal Maritime Commission efforts to address ocean carrier consolidation, declining maritime shipping performance, port delays and container shortages.
Click here to read the full letter.
