Wholesale Inflation Hits Three-Year High as Diesel Costs Spike

Small businesses must either absorb higher operational costs or pass them to their customers. This pressure stems from a Producer Price Index (PPI) for March that reached +4.0% year over year, the highest level since February 2023. The spike is driven in part by diesel fuel prices, which gained +42% in March. As wholesale prices for final demand increase, the cost of doing business rises for the smaller firms that lack the capacity of larger corporations to absorb these expenses.