Dive Brief:
- Garbage and trash collection saw a 0.2% increase in seasonally adjusted inflation in March compared to February, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- The previous two months each had 0.9% increases in inflation, and year over year inflation grew 6.7% over March 2022.
- Those rates were higher than increases in the consumer price index for all items, which rose 0.1% in March and 5% year over year.
Dive Insight:
Collection prices rose precipitously last year as waste haulers worked to account for stubbornly high inflation. That trend has continued into the first quarter of this year as new contracts continue to price in higher costs.
Several waste haulers said during a panel discussion at the Corporate Growth Conference in Chicago in November that they instituted multiple price increases last year, with Waste Pro Founder and Chairman John Jennings saying his company was willing to cut ties with municipal customers that aren’t willing to pay higher prices.
“We’re not going to continue this contract with the type of a relationship that we have where you are telling us ‘tough luck,’” Jennings said.
The inflationary environment of last year is likely to cool this year; the Federal Reserve has raised the interest rate 4.75% over the past year, which is the fastest pace in decades. The Fed will meet again in early May and is expected to institute another 0.25% increase.
