The Biggest Grocery Store Markups

The following is an article on grocery store markups. I find the article interesting and it is something we should be aware of.

It should also be kept in mind that those who make the laws, policies and regulations for companies, and companies who operate things like big rig trucks, also work in an environment where they do not need to turn a profit. Hell most of them at the Congressional/federal level and state level can't even create a balanced budget and then live within that budget for the budget year. Private companies do. Most of them go out of business if they do not. About the only ones who do not go out of business are corporations like GM, Chrysler, and Amtrak.

People need to keep in mind that nearly all of the groceries at the store, whether you purchase from one of the big chains in your area or smaller companies is brought in through trains followed by big trucks. The same big trucks that to a certain extent have been blamed for a number of environmental problems.

I topped off my trucks two 120 gallon tanks yesterday prior to going home. I put in 120 gallons of diesel. The cost for the fuel last night when I did that was $3.709 per gallon. The truck is a newer "clean burning" truck that has a separate 23 gallon tank for DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid). I put in 15 gallons of the stuff. That was $2.779 per gallon. Those costs do not include the numerous licensing fees, taxes, maintenance and etc. required to operate a big truck. All those costs are figured into the price my company charges its customers to make deliveries. Those customers ie. grocery retailers figure the fees they are paying to my company into the prices they charge their customers for their groceries. This also doesn't include the cost of the food product the retailer purchased from their suppliers. Unlike the federal, state, and local governments, these grocery retailers do need to make a profit in order to stay in business.

There is a reason we are paying more for our food and other items at the store.

link

Um, yeah. Perishables and prepared foods have higher markups. That would seem to be self-evident.

Green Room?

Typical comments from the mindless snob known as Margaret Wander Bonanno. It's always good to see that the novelist really has nothing to contribute. Fuck off you old hag.

You can go start a thread in the green room if you'd like.

Cummins Diesel Engines for both trucks and industrial applications have seen an 80% jump in price over last year due to new environmental regulations.

Ford lost billions on the 6.0L diesel engine due to the government forcing them to quickly switch to a new engine type to meet fleet regs.

It is pathetic.... and that is just for light trucks!

It is ridiculous what we are allowing irresponsible politicians do to us, our businesses and our lives.

Appalling Perspectives

See, I wouldn't characterize your sudden awareness of the price of groceries as snobbishness. Unless of course your valet's been shopping for you all these years.

The smart money's on your eventually turning this into one of your famous rants about how overpaid supermarket personnel are.

My food prices haven't gone up this year! My grocery store raised them last year, and then put stickers out offering price assurances for this year.

Water bottles are a ridiculous waste of money. And everything else is going up in price, this is barely news.

Things going up in price, in and of itself is not news. But, the reasons for them increasing is. At a time when inflation is relatively low for us to see the types of price increases we are seeing now begs the question as to why.

Agreed...lots of overhead means lots of mark ups on the goods we purchase. That being said, some of the regulation imposed by the government is a good thing. Regulations on the emissions of heavy trucks can only improve air quality over time.

Yes, that is what they claim. Of course one has to buy into the bs and propaganda that diesel particulates are as bad as has been claimed in reports that were used. Reports that used fraudulent data by people who weren't qualified to do the reports in the first place.

So tell me Alfie, how much money are you willing to pay at the store so that we have a "clean" environment"? Can you name any regulations, taxes, or fees involved with the trucking industry that you disagree with?

I don't pretend to know nearly enough to support ALL of the regulations they have proposed. Only that I would tend to think that diesel particulates in high population areas contribute to air pollution. Particularly those diesel engines that are old.

What do you consider to be an old diesel engine?

I'm sure there is an industry standard that you're going to educate me on no matter what opinion I offer as to what I think is "old."

I have no plans to educate you on anything. You aren't interested in learning anything in my opinion Alfie.

I think one thing is clear though. You really don't know much about the subject, but you have absolutely no problem buying into propaganda and lies on the subject because it sounds good and you think it "help" the environment.

Why don't you tell me what you consider an old diesel engine to be and why you feel diesel particulates are NOT contributory to air pollution. You know, so we can all try and have a civil conversation?

Between 1993 and 2002, Ford Reduced the emissions of the 7.3L Power Stroke to 1/100 of where it had been.

When they went to the 6.0L, it was reduced to 1/50 of the lowest 7.3L emissions... and of course, the 6.0L was a disaster.

Now, with the new 6.7L you have a harmful additive you have to continually replenish which is expensive and harmful to the environment if spilled - and stolen. A lot. It's like crack:meth::catlyticconvert:dieselpollutionadditive.

And in the meantime, the value of older diesel engines is skyrocketing. I can sell cores for what good runners were going for 5 years ago.

The rest of the world has been putting up with these increased food prices for the last two years. We're only seeing it now because grocers have been heavily discounting food to keep business steady, which is becoming harder and harder to do. Additionally we've been insulated from these high prices because a lot of our food is a finished product, which is affected by marketing and packaging. In addition, we haven't been seeing a lot of this because much of the food we eat is cheap due to subsidies. Finally our inflation rate is artificially low, as food as a percentage of the Consumer Price Index is much lower than it should be, at 7.8%. For most individuals the portion of their income that is devoted to food is much higher than 7.8%, and the worldwide CPI component average for food is 17.3%

For more information.
http://www.theatlantic.com/business...-food-inflation-hasnt-stung-the-us-yet/71435/
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/von havenstein/CPI 1.jpg

Growing the pyramid. Just... growing... the... pyramid. Carry on.

Thank god, I live in a city with lots of options. Yeah, we have all the big American super market chains and all the big local chains but unless there is a really good sale on then they won't sell you anything which isn't over priced. Most of my shoping is done at the ethnic super markets, except for completely western stuff you can't find there, because the produce is 1/2 to 1/3rd as much at ethnic places. Mexican super markets, Vietnames super markets, Chinese super markets, and Arab super markets are where it is at. Hell, I even routinely go to a Russian super market.

They are all the same size of a Ralph's, Von's, or Albertson's but instead of being shiny and new most of the ethnic places are located in old super markets abondoned by the American chains and they sell stuff dirt cheap. 5lbs of potatos for $1.99, Russian cheese (which tastes great) for half the price of cheese at the American places, fish & pork at the Asian places for a song, Vegitables at the Arab market which are 90% as good but 50% the price. It's good to live in a multicultural city and have choices. Shit, I bought huge whole live crabs (around 4-5 pounds each) for $2.99 each at the Chinese market last week. They taste great, cost me around 1/3rd what was charged at the huge national American chains, and the chinks even work harder to please when they see a white guy walk in. It's a win all around as far as I'm concerned.

You have demonstrated what a stupid thing you truly are. In case you didn't know this already Retardin, even small stores and chains receive products that have been brought in via big trucks that spew dirty old diesel into the air.

Or are you naive and stupid enough that products wind up in the store from their manufacturers by transporter or something?

What do I consider to be old? At this point, ten years and older. But, different companies have different policies on what they will classify as old. Most companies will generally get rid of their trucks when the expense of maintenance exceed the money they can make using the truck.

In CA, that is by far not the case anymore. With the new environmental regs that are being passed regularly, trucks are having to be replaced far more frequently so that they meet whatever standards are being put in place.

I'll take it a step further, the new regulations are also hurting the little guy that the Democratic Party claim to represent and care about. The owner/operators are being forced out of business because they do not have the money to spend on purchasing the newer and far more expensive trucks, due in no small part to being unable to sell their older existing trucks.

Something else to keep in mind, the newer trucks that are "clean burning" are far less fuel efficient than are older trucks. So they are actually using a more diesel.

On a related note, a one pound bag of coffee at my local A&P just skyrocketed from $5.59 to $6.69 overnight last month.

What chaps my shorts are the lazy assholes who decide that they don't want this pound of hamburger meat, so they just leave it in the canned goods section. The lazy fucks can't walk over to at least some other cold section and put it there. And people wonder why food costs so much!

I read a book about the decline of delis. One of the reasons deli business is so down is because their sandwiches are so expensive. People balk at paying $15 for a corned beef sandwich, without realizing that if that much meat were served to them in the form of a steak, it might cost $10 more.

These Obama times have grocery chains really raking in the cash. People stopped eating out and started buying more at the grocers and its high times for them right now.

Most grocery stores are hurting because people don't just stop eating out, they also cut down on the amount they spend on groceries and start cutting coupons. Instead of buying name brand foods they'll buy store brand. Instead of buying fresh produce, baked goods, or meats, they'll buy frozen. Stores make most of their money on the markup of fresh goods, when people switch to store bought or frozen they get a much smaller markup.

So no, you have no clue what you're talking about, as usual.

The stores make more profit on the store brand food, or they wouldn't be selling. They are making a mint right around here. People that work for them are getting big raises when the majority of jobs aren't and big profit sharing bonuses and all that.

The amount of profit that stores make on store brands is much lower than the amount they make on selling fresh foods and prepared goods.

As for the people working for them getting big raises and profit sharing bonuses, you're completely full of shit as usual. The store I'm at has had to lose our Sunday time and a half and bonus checks as well as a lot of our hours. My friend who works at Kroger's doesn't get raises and has had his hours cut. Another friend who works at Wal-Mart is a manager and is still making shit.

So unless you have something a bit more tangible than "I think my grocery store is making lots of money," I'm afraid I can't take you seriously.

I seem to recall Nova getting laid off from her minimum wage grocery store job because minimum wage went up and they couldn't afford her anymore.