Inflation Shock: The Biggest Price Hikes Businesses Are Facing
Key Takeaways
- Wholesale turkey had the largest price increase in 2025, with prices surging by 70%.
- Metals make up eight of the 15 commodities with the highest inflation.
Before households feel inflation at the checkout line, it often starts much earlier in the supply chain. When businesses face rising input costs, those pressures can ripple outward, shaping everything from grocery bills to construction budgets.
Created in partnership with Terzo, this graphic shows where business price hikes have been the most intense. It’s part of our Markets in a Minute series, which delivers quick economic insights for executives.
Commodities With the Most Sticker Shock
We’ve used data from the Producer Price Index, which tracks the prices businesses pay for inputs like raw materials, energy, and intermediate goods. The table below shows which commodities had the biggest price hikes in 2025.
| Commodity | Category | Dec. 2024 to Dec. 2025 Price Increase |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale Turkey | Food & Agriculture | 70% |
| Primary Metals* | Metals | 62% |
| Metal Ores* | Metals | 47% |
| Recycled Metals* | Metals | 31% |
| Aluminum Products | Metals | 31% |
| Aluminum Scrap | Metals | 25% |
| Wholesale Beef | Food & Agriculture | 21% |
| Copper Scrap | Metals | 20% |
| Industrial Gases | Chemical & Industrial | 18% |
| Nitrogen Fertilizers | Chemical & Industrial | 18% |
| Steel Products | Metals | 17% |
| Portfolio Management | Services | 17% |
| Fluid Power Equipment** | Chemical & Industrial | 16% |
| Wire and Cable* | Metals | 15% |
| Inedible Fats & Oils | Food & Agriculture | 14% |
*Excluding iron and steel. **Uses pressurized liquid or gas. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, data as of December 2025.
One standout: turkeys. Businesses saw wholesale prices rise by 70% in the last year, driven by bird flu outbreaks that reduced supply. Businesses using turkey as a core input, such as deli meat producers, frozen meal manufacturers, and pet food companies will be hit particularly hard.
Turkey inflation has also impacted grocers, but companies typically have not passed these prices on to consumers around Thanksgiving. Many retailers treat turkeys as a loss leader, absorbing higher costs to draw shoppers into their stores.
Metals: Crowding the Leaderboard of High Inflation
Notably, eight of the top 15 biggest price hikes are related to metals. Aluminum prices have been pushed higher by energy-intensive smelting costs, tariffs that have reduced supply, and high demand for the metal in everything from vehicles to AI data centers.
Copper has also seen high inflation, driven by tight supply just as demand accelerates from electrification, power grids, and renewable energy infrastructure.
Analysts are mixed on what they see coming for copper prices. While Goldman Sachs predicts that copper prices will decline in 2026, J.P. Morgan Global Research expects the rally to continue.
To navigate this complexity, leading businesses are turning to smarter tools. Terzo’s all-in-one AI platform, NirvanAI, helps leaders transform company contracts into clear, actionable insights.
See NirvanAI in action and learn how it helps you make decisions with confidence.
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- Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/sp/ter02-inflation-shock-biggest-price-hikes-businesses-are-facing/
