BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Example: a vendor blames a beef-price hike on “the market,” but the BLS Producer Price Index for that category held flat last month — a public, citable sign the increase may be the vendor’s, not the market’s.
the U.S. price, wage & jobs statistics agency
The U.S. federal statistics agency for prices, wages, and jobs. It publishes the Consumer Price Index (CPI) — what households pay at retail — and the Producer Price Index (PPI) — what businesses charge each other, including wholesale food — free and on a fixed schedule.
Why it matters
It’s a public number nobody at your distributor controls. When a vendor says costs are up, the PPI shows whether prices businesses charge each other actually rose. The Cost Index uses BLS PPI/CPI to corroborate which way an ingredient’s price is moving — a check on the trend, not the primary wholesale level (that’s USDA).
Frequently asked
What is the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)?
The BLS is the U.S. federal government's main statistics agency for prices, wages, and jobs. For a restaurant, its two key reports are the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks what households pay at retail, and the Producer Price Index (PPI), which tracks what businesses charge each other one step earlier in the chain — including wholesale food. Everything it publishes is public, free, and released on a fixed, pre-announced schedule.
What's the difference between the CPI and the PPI?
The CPI measures retail prices — what a household pays at the grocery store or restaurant. The PPI measures prices one step earlier, what businesses charge each other, so it sits closer to the wholesale level a distributor pays. For tracking ingredient costs, the PPI is usually the more relevant of the two, with the CPI showing whether a move reached retail shelves.
How does the Muntin Cost Index use BLS data?
The Cost Index uses BLS PPI and CPI series as a corroborating input — a public, second read that helps confirm which way an ingredient price is moving. It is not the index’s primary wholesale level; that comes from USDA. BLS price indexes are monthly and broad, so they confirm the direction of a category rather than pricing a specific cut on a specific day.
- USDA Market News — USDA’s public market-price reports
- USDA Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) — mandatory packer price reporting to USDA
- USDA Dairy Product Sales Report (NDPSR) — the weekly U.S. dairy price benchmark
- FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) — the public front door to U.S. economic data
- EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) — the U.S. federal energy-statistics agency
- NOAA Fisheries — the U.S. ocean-fisheries & landings agency
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