HEADS UP! We were just notified of factories retooling packaging lines (SHRINKFLATION

[John Wayne]

Hi everyone,

Stock up and save $.

Our machine shop supplies many factories with parts for their packaging lines. Many brands of shampoo, skin care, soaps, dog food, dog treats, wasp sprays, tortillas, taco shells, anything made with chicken and on and on.

We received our 3rd notification of another factory retooling their line during 2022 for smaller packaging which will likely contain less product but at the same cost.

Raw stainless steel has nearly doubled in price in the last few months so when we have to bid a project the bid includes a disclaimer stating the price is only good for 1 day subject to raw material changes.

JW

[country gent]

I have also noticed that a lot of machine tooling is out of stock now. Look at shars, penn tool, and some others. Stainless has always been expensive but all materials are up on cost even wood. Food service needs stainless as it dosnt induce contaminants in the moist environments and stands up to to caustic cleanings much better. Specialty metals are really up, along with brass bronze and copper.

This is what happens when you shutter your manufacturing and depend on outside sources for materials.

I believe old Henry had it right when he built the Rouge plant, basic materials came in went to the mills and were made into steels aluminum glass along with other needed materials, at the end cars rolled out. The only thing rouge didnt make was tires and paint

[hoodat]

I think that's just great, that they've found a way to prevent the prices from going up. (inserts tongue in cheek) :-|

[dannyd]

Welcome to round Two of Jimmy Carter and the 1970’s. ;)

[Butzbach]

I have also noticed that a lot of machine tooling is out of stock now. Look at shars, penn tool, and some others. Stainless has always been expensive but all materials are up on cost even wood. Food service needs stainless as it dosnt induce contaminants in the moist environments and stands up to to caustic cleanings much better. Specialty metals are really up, along with brass bronze and copper.

This is what happens when you shutter your manufacturing and depend on outside sources for materials.

I believe old Henry had it right when he built the Rouge plant, basic materials came in went to the mills and were made into steels aluminum glass along with other needed materials, at the end cars rolled out. The only thing rouge didnt make was tires and paint

My Dad, Grandfather, and all of my uncles on my Dad’s side supplied parts to the big three for 30 years. (1943-1975) It took an act of Congress for Ford to commit more than a few percent of any total part volume to any one supplier (contractor). (My Dad’s shop had 10% of some Ford oil pan strainers because their quality was way ahead of their competition in Tennessee.) So, the spirit of Henry Ford’s supply chain strategy carried on. Ford QC inspectors were notoriously unreasonable too.

[GregLaROCHE]

There will be mass inflation. It has already started.

[StuBach]

Everything is having supply constraints. We were notified by our chicken supplier (the big one but I won’t name names) that due to hatch rates being down and staffing shortages we should expect shortages on all breast and wing meat for the foreseeable future (no cure date given).

Guess I won’t be hitting up BWW any time for my favorite boneless wings.

[JSnover]

Everything is getting the squeeze. Even if you could get the size and the price you want, there's a shortage of drivers to transport everything.
.

[sghart3578]

Yeah but at least there are no more mean tweets.

[bedbugbilly]

Huh? Inflation? What inflation? GROAN!

But just remember "Truthful Joe" has told us all that his new agenda and programs "will cost nothing".

Thank God Biden isn't from Georgia like Carter was (no offense to you good Georgians. I was teas chin when Carter was in office (remember how he wanted to be shown carrying his own suitcase - which was later leaked out that it was an EMPTY suitcase) - anyway when Carter was in office the schools were flooded with peanut butter - a government program - the cafeteria cooks had a hard time using it all up - peanut butter sandwiches, peanut butter cookies, etc. everyday for the kids!

The taxpayers are already paying for Beden's open border - give illegals everything scheme - not to mention billions of dollars for his "retreat" and all the equipment he left in Afghanistan - now it is becoming evident that we will be paying twice as much for products - having to buy two packages for what used to be packaged in one package. Yep - it has already become abundantly clear as to how the American Citizen and Taxpayer is getting screwed. Meanwhile Nancy eats gourmet ice cream she keeps in her $75K refrigerators.

[GregLaROCHE]

Whenever there is a shortage in supply, no matter one or many causes, those who really want or need the product pay more for it. That’s inflation!
I just bought a pack of primers that were twice the price than a year and a half ago, the last time I bought them. Maybe I complained a little to myself, but I bought them, because it wasn’t that significant to me and I wanted them! That’s inflation!

[Bmi48219]

Just stopped at store on my way home from the beach. I usually do the grocery shopping but we had so much in the refrigerator I hadn’t been there for 10 days. Some item prices were unchanged but most were up 6 to 10%!

[starnbar]

Hey bedbug that stuff left behind in Afghanistan won't go to waste they now got a Trader Joes.

[armoredman]

"Traitor Joe's", you mean.

[dolfinwriter]

the schools were flooded with peanut butter - a government program - the cafeteria cooks had a hard time using it all up - peanut butter sandwiches, peanut butter cookies, etc. everyday for the kids!

I'll tell you though, in the late 70s, my HS made these cinnamon rolls with peanut butter in them, and they were AMAZING! At HS reunion in 2000, our former history teacher who was superintendent in 2000 gave us a tour of the school with all the new additions they had done... he said they still made those cinnamon and peanut butter rolls though!

I would kill to be able to have those shipped to my house!

[winelover]

Welcome to round Two of Jimmy Carter and the 1970’s. ;)

You wish..............back during Carter's administration it was easy to get 10-15% interest on CD's. Can hardly get half a percent, these days. Use to pay cash for a new vehicle, every five years, just on my bank interest.

Winelover

[Shawlerbrook]

A doddering old fool leader+ a corrupt press=DISASTER !!!!

[Geezer in NH]

Any family on food assistance or welfare also got Big cans of Peanut Butter Gee wonder why with Carter being a peanut farmer.

[la5676]

Everything is getting the squeeze. Even if you could get the size and the price you want, there's a shortage of drivers to transport everything.
.

Over 95% of the cost of about anything is not the stuff in the bottle/bag/box. It's the manufacturing, advertising, packaging, etc. The last couple farm grain spikes caused yuge increases (and package reductions too) in many food items made from those grains, yet in the average 1# loaf of bread or 24 oz box of cereal, there is less than 10 to 20 cents of wheat/corn in the packages, the rest is from the above segments listed.

[MaryB]

Any family on food assistance or welfare also got Big cans of Peanut Butter Gee wonder why with Carter being a peanut farmer.

There was a Kraft cheese plant in the town I grew up in, they made government cheese... so we got to eat lots of it because mom worked at the trucking company that shipped it across town to cold storage. If a case was dropped and broke open it was supposed to be destroyed. Wrapped blocks of cheese don't break... so the truckers would take it back to the depot and pass it out...was good for grilled cheese sandwiches! Melted well and was gooey!

[FISH4BUGS]

You wish..............back during Carter's administration it was easy to get 10-15% interest on CD's. Can hardly get half a percent, these days. Use to pay cash for a new vehicle, every five years, just on my bank interest.

Winelover

Yeah....and I had a mortgage at 16% too.

[gwpercle]

I wonder how big all the packages will shrink to in 3 1/2 years .
16 ounce cans of stuff like tomatoes went to 15 3/4 ozs, then to 15 1/2 ozs , then 15 ozs , then 14.75 ...
the can of Diced tomatoes I bought Saturday ... 14 1/2 ozs !
When does it stop ... 2 oz. cans ?

5 pound bags of sugar went to 4 pound bags ... I'm afraid to look at them now .
I used to make a lot of Jams and Jellies for the holidays and had my recipes based on a 5 pound bag of sugar ... had to go and recalculate every blessed one ... what a pain ... I don't like doing math .
Looks like it's still 4 pound bags at wally mart ... Today !
Gary

[Land Owner]

Hog on the ground. One shot one kill. Cajun sausage. Nothing better. No inflation here. Renewable resources. Hunting season beckons....

[winelover]

Yeah....and I had a mortgage at 16% too.

Different strokes for different folks. Never had a mortgage........paid cash for the both houses I've owned. Never paid one red cent in credit card interest, either. It's all about priorities.

Winelover

[Omega]

Went to Wendys for breakfast and got some ketchup for my potato wedges, they gave me three or four packages. First one was normal, but when I went to open the second, it had two folds along the long ends. At first I thought it was a package that had somehow been misshaped by the machine, but the others where the same. I guess it would work as a money saver if the workers wouldn't give you a fistful when you ask for them, I constantly have to tell them only a couple.

[reddog81]

The "New and Improved Packaging" trick. What they leave out of the marketing is that they shrunk the size of the product by 10% to 15%.

[Bulldogger]

What I seem to be experiencing is much more grease in the bottom of the pan when I cook a pound of bacon Sunday morning. When I smoked my own bacon the recipe said to keep it warm on the smoker a while until some 10-20% of the lard rendered, so the bacon would be less fatty.

I wonder if Smithfield and others are giving bacon less treatment, so as to make less of the starting product volume lost, and so they still weigh one pound but you end up with a cup of grease instead of a few TBsp...
Bulldogger

[jonp]

Any family on food assistance or welfare also got Big cans of Peanut Butter Gee wonder why with Carter being a peanut farmer.

We also got powdered milk, big blocks of cheese and other stuff. My mother always was first there or last to avoid people knowing we were on govt assistance.

[MUSTANG]

What I seem to be experiencing is much more grease in the bottom of the pan when I cook a pound of bacon Sunday morning. When I smoked my own bacon the recipe said to keep it warm on the smoker a while until some 10-20% of the lard rendered, so the bacon would be less fatty.

I wonder if Smithfield and others are giving bacon less treatment, so as to make less of the starting product volume lost, and so they still weigh one pound but you end up with a cup of grease instead of a few TBsp...
Bulldogger

It's not just Smithfield on the bacon. Fat content for the Kirkland Brand at Costco has visibly increased over the lat 18 months. We also prefer to buy Daily's brand at Costco because there was more visible meat and thicker cut - it too also has visually increased fat content over the last 6 months.

[Gewehr-Guy]

Years ago the lard was worth more than the sowbelly. When I have a lot of grease from frying bacon, I strain the grease through a couple layers of cloth into a canning jar. Makes for some good cooking grease.

[jonp]

Bought a bag of popcorn the other day that used to be 5oz. Now the bag is the same size but filled with air and has 3.5oz in it. I need to go on a diet anyways

[Thundarstick]

A pound is a pound, an ounce is an ounce, but a dollar isn't always a dollar! Think about that.

Pigs, pork, bacon. We have a couple of sausage factories in this area, and this area is a major pork producer for the nation. The trends in the past was get out the fat, so hogs where bread to be lean! Nearly all the sausage was getting too dry! Now there's a trend to breed more fat back into the hogs! I attend church with the fella that's responsible for spice procurement for one factory, and was complaining to him about how their sausage was so dry I had to add oil to the pan to cook it. He said their recipe hasn't changed, but the hogs had! I make nearly all my sausage at home now, but getting fat for a sausage I like is sometimes an issue.

[Daekar]

I am glad to see the extra fat in sausage. Not only does it taste better, but it signals that people are finally starting to become aware of the bad science which has dominated the nutrition conversation for 50 years. Carbs cause heart disease and diabetes, not fats, and despite the mainstream science community the evidence is mounting steadily.

I cook most things in olive oil, butter, or bacon grease now, and my food has never been better.

[MaryB]

What I seem to be experiencing is much more grease in the bottom of the pan when I cook a pound of bacon Sunday morning. When I smoked my own bacon the recipe said to keep it warm on the smoker a while until some 10-20% of the lard rendered, so the bacon would be less fatty.

I wonder if Smithfield and others are giving bacon less treatment, so as to make less of the starting product volume lost, and so they still weigh one pound but you end up with a cup of grease instead of a few TBsp...
Bulldogger

Most producers have gone to a wet cure, they pump it full of brine and that adds weight to it(you are paying for salt water), that is the white stuff you see cooking out at first and a lot of the initial liquid.

I just bought a fresh pork belly and it is getting a dry cure, it won't be pumped full of salt water. Dry cure bacon tastes so much better!!!!

[farmbif]

kind of like a can of coffee is no longer a pound, next time you see it in the store, maybe it will have 10 ounces in it. and the price is up just to give the bean counters some added fun.

[GONRA]

During WW II U.S. & A. collected (typically) a weekly soup can of fat/lard/etc. for the War Effort.
GONRA's family was unbelievably frugal - we seldom had any fat to collect!
It was all used in cooking, popcorn (from our Victory Garden) etc.
Worse yet, Mom was a Dietitian. "Spices are the work of the devil...."
NEVER EVER WANNA SEE SPAM AGAIN!

Really didn't know wot food was SUPPOSED to taste like
until half way thru High School when Pizza was invented.