Inflation sped up in May. What's to blame?
Marketplace
Marketplace
4.6 • 8.6K Ratings
🗓️ 25 June 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Inflation was up 4.1% in May, according to the BEA’s personal consumption expenditures index. We know hot energy prices, resulting from the war in Iran, were part of that spike. But cut out energy and food, and inflation still hit a three-year high, at 3.4%. So what else is driving the increase? Also in this episode: Q1 GDP is revised up, Wyoming navigates the consequences of property tax cuts, and Great Lakes cargo ships make up a vital branch of U.S. supply chains.
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Read the stories from today’s episode:
- It's not just food and energy — "core" inflation is up as well
- GDP grew 2.1% in the first quarter of 2026. What does that tell us?
- What do we need property taxes for? Wyoming is finding out
- Need a burger? A car? Winter road salt? Thank cargo ships on the Great Lakes
- Gen Z trades in date-flation for "solo-maxxing"
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Five years ago, at the height of the pandemic, a leading global company made a bold decision. |
| 0:05.0 | Rather than simply react to disruption, it set out to remake its supply chain for a world |
| 0:09.9 | defined by uncertainty. Working with GEP, the company redesigned its operations around visibility, |
| 0:16.5 | resilience, and efficiency. Today, as many companies continue to navigate tariffs, inflation, wars, |
| 0:22.8 | and supply disruptions, that company is delivering double-digit growth and gaining market share. |
| 0:28.6 | It turned supply chain shocks into competitive advantage. That's the power of GEP's AI-Native |
| 0:35.0 | quantum intelligence platform and Services. |
| 0:43.7 | More than 7,000 employees across 30 offices support over 1,000 organizations worldwide, |
| 0:49.5 | helping them anticipate disruption, reduce risk, and create value across their global value chains. |
| 0:56.7 | Find out how to put agenic AI to work in your procurement and supply chain operations at gep.com. |
| 1:07.3 | On all of it with me, Alison Stewart, we'll talk about art, music, theater, literature, history, food. |
| 1:14.9 | Well, all of it. Here in-depth, insightful interviews with authors like Zadie Smith, musicians like Steve Earl, actors like Kate Winslet and beyond. |
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| 1:29.1 | We'll do an update on where this economy stands. |
| 1:32.6 | We'll do taxes, too. |
| 1:34.4 | Sorry about that. |
| 1:35.6 | And we'll spend some time alone. |
| 1:38.9 | From American public media. |
| 1:41.3 | This is Marketplace. |
| 1:52.3 | Music media. This is Marketplace. In Los Angeles, I'm Kyle Rizznell. |
| 1:54.7 | It is Thursday. |
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