Click to enlarge.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today said that the transportation equipment Producer Price Index (PPI)* rose 2.6% from October 2025 to October 2026. The Labor Department producer price index rose 0.3% from September to October, down from a 1.4% jump in the previous month. However, year-over-year, it climbed 6.5%, up from 6.3% in September. This is the largest increase since November 2022. One year ago, wholesale inflation was only 3.1%.
“In comparison, all services (transportation and non-transportation) rose 6.8% over the same time-frame. Transportation contributed 16.3% to the overall increase in the PPI for all services,” BLS said.
During the same 12-month period, the change in the PPI for transportation services varied by mode:
- Air: +6.3%
- Rail: +1.3%
- Truck: +24.6%
- Water: +21.4%
- Arrangement of freight and cargo: +4.7%
[The rising costs are passed on to consumers of course. This confirms mid-term voter rejection of the Trump mis-administration handling of the economy. Note in particular the ~25% increase in trucking costs – AutoCrat.]
*PPI, produced and published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), measures inflation from the perspective of the producers (sellers) of products.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Trump-Flation Persists in Rising Trucking Costs
Click to enlarge.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today said that the transportation equipment Producer Price Index (PPI)* rose 2.6% from October 2025 to October 2026. The Labor Department producer price index rose 0.3% from September to October, down from a 1.4% jump in the previous month. However, year-over-year, it climbed 6.5%, up from 6.3% in September. This is the largest increase since November 2022. One year ago, wholesale inflation was only 3.1%.
“In comparison, all services (transportation and non-transportation) rose 6.8% over the same time-frame. Transportation contributed 16.3% to the overall increase in the PPI for all services,” BLS said.
During the same 12-month period, the change in the PPI for transportation services varied by mode:
[The rising costs are passed on to consumers of course. This confirms mid-term voter rejection of the Trump mis-administration handling of the economy. Note in particular the ~25% increase in trucking costs – AutoCrat.]
*PPI, produced and published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), measures inflation from the perspective of the producers (sellers) of products.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.