Import prices are shooting up. They could fuel inflation
Import prices for goods, excluding energy, have risen by 4.5% over the past year, driven largely by high demand for capital goods like semiconductors and computers. Economists attribute this trend to the rapid expansion of AI data centers, which is creating inflationary pressure.
Why it matters
The surge in costs for tech-related imports suggests that the AI infrastructure boom is having a measurable impact on broader economic inflation.
Stripping out the cost of imported energy, imports are about 4.5% more expensive than at the same time last year.
Listen Now Save Share Download Inside an AI data center in Austin, Texas. Data centers are a big cause of heightened import prices right now. Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images There isn’t a whole lot of inflation data on the calendar this week. The most important inflation report — the one the Federal Reserve depends on — comes out next Wednesday, when the Bureau of Economic Analysis releases its personal consumption expenditures price index .
But on Tuesday, new data came out on the price of imported goods . Those prices in July were down 0.4% from the month before, according to the Department of Labor — mostly thanks to lower fuel costs.
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