Business

The prices of beer, outdoor folding chairs and grilling tools may be more expensive at Fourth of July barbeques this year, according to a congressional report.
The total cost of a typical grocery trip for a cookout has increased by a 12.7% annualized rate since President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement in April, according to the analysis.
The report shows six-packs of Miller Lite and Coors Light increased by more than 13% each since April.

Cans of Molson Coors Brewing Co. Miller Lite and Coors Light brand beer
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Americans may spend more on common barbeque items this Fourth of July with prices on products like beer, outdoor folding chairs and grill tools higher, according to a new congressional report.
The total cost of a typical grocery trip for a cookout has increased by a 12.7% annualized rate since President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement in April, according to the analysis by the Joint Economic Committee’s Democratic minority arm. It calculated the price increase using consumer price index data for the most popular food and beverage items for a 10-person summer cookout.

The minority analysis found that a six-pack of bottled lite domestic beer from Miller Lite and Coors Light increased by more than 13% each since the April tariff announcement. The analysis looked at Walmart to find the most popular products and tracked their prices from April 1 to June 26 using price checking website AisleGopher.
For imported beers, the minority analysis found a 10.5% price increase for bottles of Peroni Nastro Azzurro and a 9.5% increase for Modelo Especial bottles.
In April, Trump announced 25% tariffs on beer imports and empty aluminum cans. In early June, his administration hiked tariffs on imported aluminum to 50%.
Some beer brands, including Modelo owner Constellation Brands, have said higher aluminum costs have weighed on margins.
The analysis also found price increases for key cookout gear by tracking popular listings on Amazon using price-checking websites Keepa.com and Camelcamelcamel.com.

Since April 1, Amazon listings for a Coleman foldable camping chair increased 47.7% and a 25-piece griddle accessories kit increased 17.7%, according to the report.
Other products saw more modest increases. A Banana Boat sunscreen rose 8.1%, Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil rose 6.9%, a Weber propane grill increased 5% and a multi-pack of disposable plates and utensils rose 3.3%, the report said.
A separate May report from Rabobank, a global food and agribusiness bank, found that the cost of a 10-person barbeque rose 4.2% this year and will hit $100 for the first time ever. Its barbeque index highlighted higher beef prices as a contributing factor. More

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Tim Kuniskis was promoted to lead American brands and North American marketing for Stellantis.
The automaker also revived the SRT division for performance and motorsports.
Kuniskis will stay CEO of Ram, where he’s working on a turnaround plan for the brand.

Tim Kuniskis, head of NAFTA Passenger Car Brands for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, speaks during the reveal of the Fiat Chrysler 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon sports vehicle ahead of the 2017 New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017.
Mark Kauzlarich | Bloomberg | Getty Images

New Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa, who took over the top job one week ago, has made his first major leadership move, promoting Tim Kuniskis to oversee all American brands and lead marketing and retail strategy in North America.
Kuniskis remains CEO of Ram. He now has a broader role across the company’s U.S. operations. Kuniskis, who came out of retirement after seven months, returned to Stellantis late last year after former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares unexpectedly stepped down.

Stellantis is also bringing back the Street and Racing Technology performance division.
SRT will combine engineers from Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and Chrysler and will focus on high-performance vehicles and motorsports.
“SRT is another box we needed to check,” Kuniskis said in a press release Wednesday. “We’re getting the band back together.”
Kuniskis is also leading a major product launch at Ram as part of an effort to combat yearslong sales declines. The brand plans to launch 25 new products throughout the next 18 months.
Earlier this month, Kuniskis announced the return of its popular V-8 Hemi engines for its Ram 1500 full-size pickup trucks. Ram plans to offer the engine again in early 2026. More

President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policy is still hurting Constellation Brands’ beer sales as Hispanic shoppers pull back their spending.
The brewer, which owns Modelo, Corona and Pacifico, says that roughly half of its beer sales come from U.S. Latinos.
Constellation’s earnings and revenue for the quarter ended May 31 fell short of Wall Street’s estimates.

Bottles of Modelo beer are displayed on a shelf at a BevMo store on January 05, 2024 in San Rafael, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Constellation Brands’ beer sales fell 2% in its latest quarter as President Donald Trump’s deportations and consumers’ broader economic fears weighed on demand.
In April, Constellation CEO Bill Newlands said that Hispanic consumers are spending less due to their concerns about Trump’s hard-line immigration policy and possible job losses in industries with high Latino employment bases. During Wednesday’s earnings conference call, Newlands acknowledged that raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were making it difficult to predict consumer behavior moving forward, although he demurred about tying the beer division’s slowdown to Hispanic shoppers specifically during the company’s fiscal first-quarter call.

“When you see a fair amount of change, both Hispanic and non-Hispanic consumers are concerned about inflation and about cost structure,” Newlands told analysts.
Hispanic consumers are a core part of Constellation’s customer base. The brewer, which owns Modelo, Corona and Pacifico, says that roughly half of its beer sales come from Latinos in the U.S.
Constellation’s earnings and revenue for the quarter ended May 31 fell short of Wall Street’s estimates, hurt by weaker beer demand and higher aluminum costs from Trump’s tariffs. Still, the company reiterated its full-year outlook, signaling confidence that it can achieve its financial targets despite economic uncertainty.
Constellation isn’t the only packaged food and beverage company to report weaker demand from Hispanic consumers. Last quarter, Coca-Cola and Colgate-Palmolive were also among the companies that tied a slowdown in U.S. sales to a pullback by Hispanic shoppers.

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