Ground beef hits $6.90 per pound

Bureau of Labor Statistics data released this month showed average U.S. ground beef prices reached a record $6.90 per pound ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. Fox Business, citing the April Consumer Price Index data, reported ground beef was up 14.5% from a year earlier and uncooked beef steaks were up 16.1%. The increase landed as millions of Americans prepared for holiday cookouts and travel, with AAA projecting 3.66 million domestic air travelers between May 21 and May 25. The New York Times also reported much of the country was expected to see wet and cool weather over the holiday weekend. ### How high did beef prices get? The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ average price data put ground beef at $6.90 per pound, a record level cited by Quartz in a May 22 report. Yahoo Finance, also citing the BLS release, said the average U.S. price of uncooked beef steaks reached $13.02 per pound. BLS average price data are published as part of the Consumer Price Index program and track what urban consumers pay for selected items. The agency says food average prices are published without sales tax. That makes the series a closely watched gauge for what shoppers are seeing at grocery stores rather than a futures-market benchmark. ### What parts of the cookout got more expensive? Fox Business reported that April CPI data showed frankfurters were up 10.7% from a year earlier. The same report said tomato prices rose 39.7%, while cakes, cupcakes and cookies were up 5.1% and ice cream rose 2.7%. Chicken moved the other way. Fox Business said overall chicken prices were down 0.7% from a year earlier, with fresh whole chicken down 1.8% and fresh and frozen chicken parts down 0.1%. ### Why are shoppers hearing about this right before Memorial Day? Memorial Day is one of the biggest grilling weekends of the year, which makes grocery inflation more visible because households are buying many of the same items at once. Quartz tied the $6.90-per-pound ground beef figure directly to holiday cookout budgets in its May 22 report. CNBC also highlighted the timing in a May 22 segment on rising cookout costs, reporting that key barbecue staples such as ground beef, hot dogs and beer posted sharp increases in the latest CPI data. The reports did not present the holiday as the cause of the price rise; they used the weekend as a moment when consumers were likely to notice it. ### How does travel fit into the same weekend story? AAA said 45 million Americans were expected to travel at least 50 miles from home between Thursday, May 21, and Monday, May 25, setting a Memorial Day weekend record. Of those travelers, 39.1 million were expected to drive and 3.66 million were projected to fly domestically. Yahoo reported the air-travel figure was up 0.3% from last year. The New York Times said most Memorial Day travelers would be driving and described the weekend as the start of what is expected to be a busy summer travel season. ### What was the weather forecast for the holiday? The New York Times reported on May 22 that much of the United States was expected to be wet and cool over the holiday weekend, while the West was forecast to be drier and closer to seasonal conditions. CNN also warned the weekend could be costly and chaotic for both drivers and fliers. In Atlanta, Fox 5 Atlanta reported 2.7 million passengers were expected at the airport during the holiday period, with delays worsened by a federal ground stop on Friday. That added another pressure point to a weekend already marked by heavy travel demand and higher grocery bills. ### What should readers watch next? The next BLS Consumer Price Index releases will show whether beef prices remain near record levels after the Memorial Day buying rush. AAA’s holiday travel counts for May 21 through May 25 and post-weekend airline and airport data will provide a clearer picture of how the 3.66 million domestic-flyer forecast held up.