A combination of labor and energy issues, the cost to haul cargo across country or even across town has exploded in recent years. Long-distance trucking costs have jumped a staggering 70% over the past two years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after rising a combined 35% over the previous 20 years.
As of May, average transportation and warehouse costs for businesses had risen 24% over the year before. That's just the cost of bringing finished goods to market, like trucking a loaf of bread to a grocery store. The cost to move wheat and flour between farms, mills, warehouses and bakeries is also up, on average, 16% over the past year.
Packaging
Plastic bread bags are also affected by increased costs to produce and ship due to energy and labor. And the persistently high price of oil, which keeps setting records, directly translates into higher prices for petroleum-derived plastics.
Raw ingredients
A major spike in the price of wheat doesn't cause an equally large spike in the cost of a bread loaf. That's because a significant swing in the price of abundant commodities like wheat often translates into just a few cents' difference.
