Not everything is suffering from inflation

As shocking as it may sound, there are some sectors of this economy where inflation isn't as bad as those topline numbers from the producer price index and consumer price index.

Food prices are the most notable: At least some foods are not experiencing a whole lot of inflation. David Anderson, a professor of livestock and food product marketing at Texas A&M University, said that has a lot to do with how much diesel it takes to get that food to your supermarket.

“How close is that agricultural product as it comes from the farm to the way us consumers buy it at the store?” he asked.

Other foods have a lot of supply right now. There are a lot of dairy cows pumping out milk, for example, so prices are low. Other foods have seen a drop in demand — like bacon.

“For a long time, we put bacon on everything,” Anderson said.

But these days, people mostly want to eat beef — and it’s expensive.

“[So,] we're not adding to the cost of that meal by putting bacon on there,” Anderson said.

Eggs prices have fallen, too. U-T Austin’s Carola Binder has noticed.

“I have my own 19 chickens, and we sell eggs,” said Carola Binder, an economics professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

Binder used to give her customers a deal for $3 a dozen, because store eggs were so pricey. But now they’re not — last year’s bird flu has simmered down.

“The flocks are recovering,” Binder said. “There's more supply, and so prices are falling.”

Another area with moderate inflation is tire prices. They’re up 0.7% for producers and 0.2% for consumers. Erin Keating, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, thinks that’s because of competition.

“Consumers can shop everywhere,” Keating said.

They can pick from Costco, Mavis, a local dealer, and more.

“Unless they literally pop one and can't drive the car any further, you will see them go around and shop for them more,” she said.

Appliance and TV prices have also declined.

“One can buy an extraordinary television, but it might only cost $200,” said Anirban Basu, CEO of Sage Policy Group. “It's easy to focus on everything that has become more expensive. But there are some items that have benefited from technological progress.”

Basu said that if it wasn’t for tariffs, wars, and immigration related labor shortages, a lot of stuff might have lower prices right now.