KSHB 41 News reporter Lauren Schwentker covers stories in Platte and Clay. County. Have a story idea? Send her an email.
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The Producer Price Index, which measures how much it costs to make goods, jumped 0.7% last month, an increase more than what economists expected.
The rise in inflation is impacting both shoppers and manufacturers.
KSHB 41's Lauren Schwentker heard from people filling up their gas tanks and getting groceries Wednesday in the Northland about the rise in costs.
Northland shopper Ann Yehle said price increases are hitting her pocketbook.
"Everything is just going up and up and up," Yehle said. "Gas has gone up, everything has gone up."
She's not the only one.
"It's hard, and it's times of the year, too," said Northland shopper Vince Maenza.
Manufacturers in the Kansas City metro are also feeling the pinch, so Schwentker asked what that means for workers. Rob Haake runs AJ Manufacturing, which makes specialized HVAC products.
"I definitely can feel that inflation is affecting my employees," Haake said.
Even though Haake gave his employees a 7% raise last year, he said some are still requesting help for financial assistance.
"In the last three to four months, we’ve noticed a huge uptick in people needing money," Haake said.
Haake sources his supply in the U.S., so he is not taking a huge hit. But he knows other suppliers are facing a different situation.
"I've got several people that I know that import, like electric motors from Europe, from Germany, and they have to deal with the tariffs," Haake said.
Haake emphasized the need to balance employee needs with business sustainability.
"We try to be as generous as we can to our employees, but we have to be fair to the business, too," Haake said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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