Counting Costs

IF YOU’VE been studying your supply bills, you’ve probably noticed increases in raw material costs over the past few years that have easily outpaced inflation. Are your raw material suppliers taking advantage of you?

Not at all—they’re seeing their own costs rise as well, often at astronomical rates. While the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 18 percent from 2000 to October 2006—a rate of roughly 3 percent annually—the cost of silver has risen 158 percent over the same time period, and aluminum has gone up 71 percent since December 2003.