The PracticalDad Price Index (PDPI) rose slightly in May to 102.08 as both coffee and canola oil – a cooking oil akin to vegetable oil – posted gains of 7.2% and 4.9% respectively from April. While these items had significant gains, the PDPI only increased slightly from April’s 101.97 due to offsetting price decreases in several items. This constitutes a 2.08% rise in the 46 item food basket since its inception in November of 2010.
Comments on the May pricing:
- The coffee increases were purely in price alone with no stealth inflationary practices of holding price constant while decreasing package sizing.
- Canola oil rose again on the back of increased demand from biofuel producers as the cost of crude oil remains high. Canola oil is used in baked products and since crude oil began to rise, the price of bread/rolls has risen more than 8% since November; these products had no price changes this month, however.
- Flour continued flat while sugar, a commodity which has risen in cost in raw form, showed it’s first sign of change with a small increase of 1.9%. If sugar continues to rise, expect to see price increases in corollary food products containing sugar, such as the store brand "Frosted Flake" item.
- Orange Juice also showed an increase of 3.8% as one store raised price while maintaining the package sizing.
- Store brand hot dogs rose 4%, the first bump in that product since the index inception in November.
- The per pound cost of a roaster chicken rose 1.9% while the cost of eggs jumped 8.8%. Eggs have fluctuated in price however and are still below the high of $2.01/dozen in December, 2010 while the per pound cost is also below the high reached in February, 2011.
- The cost of a box of trash bags dropped by 8.5% with decreases noted in two of the stores. In the past several months, I’ve noticed that these two stores have introduced ultra-low cost household products into their stores. These are typically the types of items that could be purchased in stores such as Dollar Tree or Dollar General and it could be that the grocery stores have introduced the lines to retain the customers who might otherwise take those purchases to the dollar stores. In this case however, the bags continue to be store brand as they were before so it’s possible that they’ve found new, cheaper producers for their products.
| Item | Size | Category | 3/11 Avg Price | 4/11 Avg Price | 5/11 Avg Price |
| hot dog rolls (ct) | 8 | bread | 1.14 | 1.18 | 1.18 |
| loaf, wht bread, store brand (oz) | 20 | bread | 1.22 | 1.22 | 1.22 |
| spaghetti, store brand (oz) | 16 | bread | 1.18 | 1.21 | 1.21 |
| child cereal, sugar flakes, store brand (oz) | 17 | cereal | 2.90 | 2.90 | 2.90 |
| cereal, rice chex, store brand (oz) | 12.8 | cereal | 2.74 | 2.74 | 2.74 |
| oatmeal, one minute, store brand (oz) | 42 | cereal | 3.21 | 3.21 | 3.21 |
| milk, 2%, (gallon) | 1 | dairy | 3.68 | 3.68 | 3.68 |
| butter, unsalted, store brand (lb) | 1 | dairy | 3.49 | 3.49 | 3.49 |
| vanilla ice cream, store brand (qt) | 1 | dairy | 1.94 | 1.99 | 2.01 |
| grated parmesan cheese, store brand (oz) | 8 | dairy | 3.08 | 3.08 | 3.08 |
| American cheese, deli (lb) | 1 | dairy | 5.52 | 5.52 | 5.52 |
| peanut butter, store brand (oz) | 28 | grocery | 2.96 | 2.96 | 2.96 |
| grape jelly, store brand (oz) | 32 | grocery | 1.82 | 1.82 | 1.82 |
| kidney beans, dark, store brand (oz) | 15.5 | grocery | .87 | .87 | .87 |
| can green peas, store brand (oz) | 15 | grocery | .92 | .92 | .92 |
| can diced tomatoes, store brand (oz) | 14.5 | grocery | .94 | .94 | .94 |
| can cut green beans, store brand (oz) | 14.5 | grocery | .92 | .92 | .91 |
| can corn, store brand (oz) | 15.25 | grocery | .92 | .92 | .92 |
| spaghetti sauce, store brand (oz) | 26 | grocery | 1.13 | 1.13 | 1.13 |
| cola, store brand (L) | 2 | grocery | .92 | .92 | .92 |
| caffeinated coffee, store brand (oz) | 13 | grocery | 3.71 | 3.87 | 4.15 |
| diapers, store brand, (ct) | 100 | baby | 17.82 | 17.82 | 17.82 |
| formula, Enfamil Premium, Lipil (oz) | 23.4 | baby | 22.94 | 22.94 | 22.94 |
| child ibuprofen, OS, store brand (oz) | 4 | hlth/bty | 4.96 | 4.96 | 4.96 |
| adult ibuprofen, store brand (ct) | 100 | hlth/bty | 6.72 | 6.72 | 6.72 |
| shampoo, Suave (oz) | 22.5 | hlth/bty | 1.71 | 1.71 | 1.71 |
| pads, long, Poise (ct) | 42 | hlth/bty | 16.09 | 16.09 | 16.09 |
| bath soap, Dial (ct) | 8 | hlth/bty | 5.39 | 5.39 | 5.39 |
| aluminum foil, store brand (sq ft) | 75 | hshld | 2.97 | 2.97 | 2.97 |
| kitchen trash bags, store brand (ct) | 26 | hshld | 4.15 | 4.11 | 3.76 |
| paper towels, 2 ply, store brand (ct) | 8 | hshld | 7.26 | 7.69 | 7.26 |
| hot dogs, meat franks, store brand (oz) | 16 | meat | 2.46 | 2.46 | 2.56 |
| ground beef, 80% lean (lb) | 1 | meat | 3.32 | 3.32 | 3.39 |
| eggs, large (doz) | 1 | meat | 1.72 | 1.69 | 1.84 |
| lunchmeat, deli ham, chopped (lb) | 1 | meat | 4.06 | 4.06 | 4.06 |
| chicken, roaster (lb) | 1 | meat | 1.59 | 1.56 | 1.59 |
| fish sticks, Gortons (ct) | 44 | meat | 7.86 | 7.86 | 7.86 |
| tuna, water packed, store brand (oz) | 5 | meat | .78 | .78 | .78 |
| bananas (lb) | 1 | produce | .58 | .58 | .59 |
| apples, Red Delicious, bag (lb) | 3 | produce | 3.59 | 3.76 | 3.76 |
| carrots, bag (lb) | 2 | produce | 2.12 | 2.39 | 2.39 |
| OJ, non-concentrate, store brand (oz) | 64 | produce | 2.66 | 2.66 | 2.76 |
| potatoes, Russet (lb) | 5 | produce | 3.99 | 3.99 | 3.99 |
| sugar, store brand (lb) | 5 | staple | 3.26 | 3.16 | 3.22 |
| flour, store brand (lb) | 5 | staple | 1.99 | 1.99 | 1.99 |
| canola oil, store brand (oz) | 48 | staple | 3.66 | 4.09 | 4.29 |
| rice, white, long-grain, store brand (lb) | 2 | staple | 1.67 | 1.67 | 1.63 |
| Total | 180.52 | 181.91 | 182.10 | ||