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Diesel fuel is in short supply as demand rebounds following the pandemic, while supply remains tight.
Prices have surged to record levels, adding to inflationary concerns across the economy.
The problem is especially acute on the East Coast, where prices have become “unhinged,” according to one analyst.
Higher prices are “certainly going to translate into more expensive goods,” said GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan.

The prices for gas and diesel fuel, over $6.00 a gallon, are displayed at a petrol station in Los Angeles, March 2, 2022.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images

Diesel prices are surging, contributing to inflationary headwinds due to the fuel’s vital role in the American and global economy. Tankers, trains, trucks and planes all run on diesel. The fuel is also used across industries including farming, manufacturing, metals and mining.
“Diesel is the fuel that powers the economy,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. Higher prices are “certainly going to translate into more expensive goods,” he said, since these higher fuel costs will be passed along to consumers. “Especially at the grocery store, the hardware store, anywhere you shop.” 

In other words, the impacts will be felt across the economy.  

Diesel’s surge

The jump in prices comes on the heels of growing demand as economies around the world get back to business. This, in turn, has pushed inventories to historic lows. Products like diesel, heating oil and jet fuel are known as “middle distillates,” since they are made from the middle of the boiling range when oil is turned into products.
U.S. distillate inventory is now at the lowest level in more than decade. The move is even more extreme on the East Coast, where stockpiles are at the lowest since 1996. Diesel and jet fuel at New York harbor are now trading well above $200 per barrel, according to UBS. 
Europe’s move away from dependency on Russian energy is hastening the rapid price appreciation. The bloc currently imports around 700,000 barrels per day of diesel from Russia, according to Stephen Brennock at brokerage PVM. 
“[T]he tightness in global supply will be exacerbated by the EU’s proposal to ban Russian oil imports,” he said.  “The ban, if approved, will have an outsized impact on product markets and especially diesel….There is now growing anxiety that Europe might run out of diesel.”

Arrows pointing outwards

Energy consultancy Rystad echoed this point, saying that the loss of Russian refined products is going to make diesel shortages in Europe “more acute.”
Refiners can’t just ramp up output to meet surging demand, and utilization rates are already above 90%. In the U.S., refining capacity has decreased in recent years. The largest refining complex on the East Coast — Philadelphia Energy Solutions — shut down following a fire in June 2019.
Several refiners are now being reconfigured to make biofuel, which has also reduced capacity.
Some refiners are also undergoing routine maintenance checks that were overdue following the pandemic. These facilities typically run flat out – 24 hours a day, seven days a week – and so at some point the machinery needs to be checked. 
The East Coast relies heavily on other areas of the country for refined products, De Haan said. Now, Europe is competing for these same fuels as it turns away from Russia.

‘Unmoored’ prices

A common saying in commodity markets is “the cure for high prices is high prices.” But that might not be the case this time around. According to UBS, distillate demand tends to be less elastic than gasoline prices.
In other words, while high prices at the pump might deter consumers, if a business needs to get goods from point A to point B, it’s going to pay those higher prices. 
Tom Kloza, head of global energy research at OPIS, said that in years past a barrel of diesel typically sold for $10 above the price of crude oil. Today, that differential – known as the crack spread – has surged to a record high above $70.
“It’s become untethered, unmoored, a little bit unhinged. These are prices we’re not used to seeing,” he said, adding that there are large price differences across the U.S.
Kloza said diesel at New York harbor is now trading around $5 per gallon, while jet fuel prices at the harbor, which usually mirrors diesel prices, are around $6.72. That equates to roughly $282 per barrel.
“These are numbers that are not just off the charts. They’re off the walls, out of the building, and maybe out of the solar system,” he said.
Retail diesel prices are also surging. On Friday the national average for a gallon hit a record of $5.51, according to AAA, after hitting a new high every single day over the last week.
Higher diesel prices is translating to higher profit margins for refiners, who are now incentivized to make as much as they possibly can. At a certain point, this could lead to tightness in the gasoline market, pushing up the high prices consumers are already seeing at the pump. 
In the meantime, consumers can expect prices for goods to keep on climbing.
“It’s going to be a double whammy on consumers in the weeks and months ahead as these diesel prices trickle down to the cost of goods — another piece of inflation that’s going to hit consumers,” GasBuddy’s De Haan said, adding that the full impact of the recent surge in prices has yet to be felt.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating 109 cases of severe hepatitis in children, including five deaths, the public health agency said on Friday.
More than 90% of the children were hospitalized and 14% required liver transplants, according to the CDC.
The public health agency has not yet determined a cause, but more than half the children had adenovirus infections.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating 109 cases of severe hepatitis in children, including five deaths, to determine a cause, with adenovirus infection as a primary line of inquiry, the public health agency said Friday.
More than 90% of the children were hospitalized and 14% required liver transplants, according to the CDC. The cases under investigation occurred over the past seven months across 25 states and territories. A majority of the patients have fully recovered and have been discharged from the hospital, according to the CDC.

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that is often caused by viral infections, but environmental factors can also play a role. It is not uncommon in children but usually isn’t severe.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
Tami Chappell | Reuters

More than half of the kids had a confirmed adenovirus infection. However, CDC officials said they don’t know yet if adenovirus is the actual cause. Adenovirus is a common virus that normally causes mild cold or flu-like symptoms, or stomach and intestinal problems. It is not a known cause of severe hepatitis in otherwise healthy children, though it has been linked to the illness in kids with weak immune systems.
“We also don’t know yet what role other factors may play, such as environmental exposures, medications, or other infections that the children might have,” Dr. Jay Butler, deputy director for infectious diseases at the CDC, told reporters on a call Friday.
Covid-19 vaccination is not the cause of the illnesses, Butler said. The children had a median age of two years, which means most of them were not eligible to receive the vaccine. The CDC is still investigating whether there’s any association with the Covid-19 virus, Butler said. However, the initial nine cases in Alabama of children with severe hepatitis did not have Covid.
The hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D and E have not been found in the kids during initial investigations, according to the CDC.

The U.S. has not seen an uptick in adenovirus infections based on the data available, Butler said. However, Dr. Umesh Parashar, a CDC official, said the U.S. does not have a good national system for conducting surveillance of the virus. Butler said the CDC is working to improve its surveillance.
The CDC has also not documented a significant increase in hepatitis cases in kids or liver transplants, but that’s based on preliminary data and could change, according to Butler. However, the United Kingdom — which first alerted the world to the issue — has documented a significant increase, he said.
“We know this update may be of concern, especially to parents and guardians of young children. It’s important to remember that severe hepatitis in children is rare,” Butler said. Parents should take the standard precautions for preventing viral infections, including hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, not touching the eyes, nose or mouth, and avoiding people who are sick, he said.
The symptoms of hepatitis include vomiting, dark urine, light colored stool, and yellowing of the skin. Parents should contact their health provider with any concerns, Butler said.
The CDC issued a nationwide health alert in late April about a cluster of severe hepatitis cases among nine children in Alabama. The World Health Organization is also closely monitoring the situation and has identified cases of severe hepatitis with unknown cause among children in at least 11 countries.
The CDC is investigating cases in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

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The regional director of the National Labor Relations Board in Buffalo, N.Y., issued a complaint against Starbucks for 29 unfair labor practice charges that included over 200 violations of the National Labor Relations Act.
The complaint stems from claims made by Starbucks Workers United against the company in Buffalo, where the union organizing effort began in August.
The NLRB says Starbucks interfered with, restrained and coerced employees seeking to unionize in various ways.

Starbucks workers react as they speak to the media after union vote in Buffalo, New York, December 9, 2021.
Lindsay DeDario | Reuters

The regional director of the National Labor Relations Board in Buffalo, N.Y., issued a complaint Friday accusing Starbucks of 29 unfair labor practice charges that included over 200 violations of the National Labor Relations Act.
The complaint stems from claims made by Starbucks Workers United against the company in Buffalo, where the union organizing effort began in August.

In the complaint, viewed by CNBC, the NLRB accuses Starbucks of interfering with, restraining and coercing employees seeking to unionize in various ways. The regional office of the independent federal agency said the coffee giant threatened and intimidated workers by closing down stores in the area, reduced workers’ compensation, enforced policies against union supporters in a discriminatory way, engaged in surveillance and fired workers, among other alleged violations.
The complaint also notes high-ranking Starbucks officials made “unprecedented and repeated” visits to Buffalo and held mandatory anti-union meetings, noting that leaders, including CEO Howard Schultz, had promised an increase in benefits if workers refrained from organizing. Buffalo has been at the center of the union drive. The city is home to the first store to vote yes on organizing in December and sparked a movement that spread across the country.
“The complaint, issued by the NLRB Regional Director in Buffalo, involves important issues,” Starbucks spokesman Reggie Borges said in a statement to CNBC. “However, Starbucks does not agree that the claims have merit, and the complaint’s issuance does not constitute a finding by the NLRB. It is the beginning of a litigation process that permits both sides to be heard and to present evidence. We believe the allegations contained in the complaint are false, and we look forward to presenting our evidence when the allegations are adjudicated.”
Since the movement started last year, more than 50 Starbucks stores have voted to organize with Workers United, and nearly 250 have petitioned to hold votes across the country. At least five have voted no on organizing. Starbucks has nearly 9,000 locations across the country.
The NLRB regional office’s complaint encompasses months’ worth of charges the union made against the company. Starbucks will have an opportunity to respond to the accusations.

To remedy the allegations, the NLRB’s general counsel seeks reinstatement of workers and to have either Schultz or Rossann Williams, executive vice president of Starbucks North Americas, hold a meeting with employees, union and government representatives present. At the meeting, which is to be videotaped and distributed, an official would read a notice of employee’s rights.
“Starbucks has been saying that no union-busting ever occurred in Buffalo. Today, the NLRB sets the record straight. The complaint confirms the extent and depravity of Starbucks’ conduct in Western New York for the better part of a year,” Starbucks Workers United said in a statement. “Starbucks will be held accountable for the union-busting minefield they forced workers to walk through in fighting for their right to organize. This Complaint fully unmasks Starbucks’ facade as a ‘progressive company’ and exposes the truth of Howard Schultz’s anti-union war.”
Starbucks did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Schultz, who is working in his third stint as Starbucks CEO, has been an active and vocal opponent of unionization in the past. The company recently announced pay and training investments for workers, but said those benefits could not automatically go to unionized stores without separate bargaining discussions.
“The union contract will not even come close to what Starbucks offers,” Schultz told analysts on the company’s earnings conference call on Tuesday.
The baristas’ union push received more exposure Thursday when the White House hosted leaders from organizing campaigns at Starbucks and other companies such as Amazon. Starbucks wrote to the White House asking for a meeting of its own, calling the event “deeply concerning,” as it says the majority of its partners oppose being in a union.
Starbucks Workers United has filed more than 100 unfair labor practice charges against Starbucks, while the company has filed two against the union in return. Starbucks Workers United also notched a recent win as NLRB officials petitioned a federal court to force the company to bring back activist employees who say they were removed due to union campaigning.

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It’s that time again! “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer rings the lightning round bell, which means he’s giving his answers to callers’ stock questions at rapid speed.

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Nokia Corp: “I thought they should’ve had a better quarter. … It did not deliver.”

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Plug Power Inc: “I like the long-term prospects. … Right now, this is a very tough day for a stock like Plug Power.”

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Lumen Technologies Inc: “[The stock price is] too cheap. Something must be going on that I just don’t understand.”

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CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Friday that the Federal Reserve’s attempts to crush inflation by raising interest rates will also inevitably bring down “formerly high-flying stocks” – even those that are “legitimate” companies.
“While we wait for the Fed to finish hitting the brakes, the formerly high-flying stocks with no earnings and little sales will keep drifting lower and lower and lower,” the “Mad Money” host said.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Friday that the Federal Reserve’s attempts to crush inflation by raising interest rates will also inevitably bring down “formerly high-flying stocks” — even those that are “legitimate” companies.
The stock market is “a major risk to containing inflation. It’s not just collateral damage, it’s one of [Fed Chair Jay Powell’s] targets. Not every stock, but certainly the ones with shaky valuation underpinnings that were trading through the roof on sales or even orders,”  the “Mad Money” host said.

“While we wait for the Fed to finish hitting the brakes, the formerly high-flying stocks with no earnings and little sales will keep drifting lower and lower and lower, because they represent still one more front” in controlling inflation, he added.
Stocks fell on Friday, though to a lesser degree than Thursday’s downturn, with both days overtaking the rally that came after the Fed’s meeting on Wednesday.
The Fed raised interest rates by 50 basis points and noted implementing larger rate hikes “is not something the committee is actively considering” to control inflation.
“I don’t think Powell is deliberately trying to tamp down on the irrational exuberance in specific stocks like a Shopify or … HubSpot, or Toast or Bill.com. They’re all legitimate companies, it’s just that their valuations were way too high, and that froth helped fuel the over-inflated IPO and SPAC bubble,” he said, referring to initial public offerings and special purpose acquisition companies.
Still, Cramer said that high-quality companies with real products, profits and value for shareholders have done well during the Fed’s tightening, and he believes the economy overall is strong enough to take even a 100-basis point rate hike.

“Powell took the possibility of a 75-basis point rate hike off the table. I see that as a mistake. … To me, it’s just much better to get the pain over with as fast as possible,” he said.
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Elon Musk flatly denied a claim by the head of ex-President Donald Trump’s new social media company that Trump had encouraged Musk’s bid to buy Twitter.
“This is false,” the Tesla and SpaceX chief tweeted in reply to a New York Post article about the story told by Trump Media & Technology Group CEO Devin Nunes.
Nunes, during an appearance on Fox Business Network, had said that Trump’s social media app, Truth Social, was “all for” Musk’s move to take Twitter private with a $44 billion buyout offer.
“President Trump, basically before Elon Musk bought it, actually said to go and buy it,” claimed Nunes, a former Republican congressman from California.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, speaks to media representatives at the Tesla Gigafactory construction site In Grünheide near Berlin, September 3, 2020.
Julian Stähle | picture alliance via Getty Images

Elon Musk on Friday flatly denied a claim by the head of ex-President Donald Trump’s new social media company that Trump had encouraged Musk’s bid to buy Twitter.
“This is false,” Musk tweeted in reply to a New York Post article about that claim by Trump Media & Technology Group CEO Devin Nunes.

“I’ve had no communication, directly or indirectly, with Trump, who has publicly stated that he will be exclusively on Truth Social,” wrote Musk, head of Tesla and SpaceX.
Nunes, during a televised appearance Wednesday on Fox Business, said that Trump’s social media app, Truth Social, was “all for” Musk’s move to buy Twitter and take it private with a $44 billion offer — a somewhat eyebrow-raising claim since Twitter is a competitor to Truth Social.

“President Trump, basically before Elon Musk bought it, actually said to go and buy it because you know the goal of our company is really to build a community where people are in a family friendly, safe environment,” said Nunes, a former Republican congressman from California, during the appearance.
Twitter banned Trump, who had been an obsessive user of the platform, in January 2021 for what the company said was the “risk of further incitement of violence.”
The ban followed the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot by a mob of Trump supporters who disrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s election.

Trump announced plans to launch Truth Social as a competitor to Twitter last fall, and said his social media company would become publicly traded through a deal with the so-called blank-check company Digital World Acquisition.
On April 25, Twitter accepted Musk’s offer to buy the company, which is contingent on approval from shareholders and regulators.

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Nunes, during his interview on Fox Business, suggested that Trump’s purported urging of Musk to buy Twitter dovetailed with the mission of Truth Social.
“That’s why we encouraged Elon Musk to buy it, because someone has to continue to take on these tech tyrants,” Nunes said. “Donald Trump wanted to make sure that the American people got their voice back and that the internet was open and that’s what we are doing.”
“And so people like Elon Musk doing what he’s doing, you know we’re definitely in favor of it,” Nunes said.
In late April, Trump told CNBC’s Joe Kernen that he would not return to Twitter even if Musk took over and reversed the ban on him.
“No, I won’t be going back on Twitter,” said Trump, who had nearly 90 million followers on the platform before the ban.
“I will be on Truth Social within the week. It’s on schedule. We have a lot of people signed up,” he said.
“I like Elon Musk. I like him a lot. He’s an excellent individual. We did a lot for Twitter when I was in the White House. I was disappointed by the way I was treated by Twitter. I won’t be going back on Twitter,” Trump said.
Statistics show that Trump, who as president had averaged upward of eight tweets per day in the last half of 2017 and the first half of 2018, steadily increased that average in the following years. He ended up with an average of 34 tweets per day in his last half year in office, before being banned.
On Truth Social, Trump as of Friday had posted a so-called Truth or “ReTruthed” another user’s post less than 30 times combined over the past two months. Nearly all of those posts had been made in the past week.
Correction: Devin Nunes is CEO of Trump Media & Technology Group. An earlier version misstated the company name.

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Couples in the U.S. are expected to host roughly 2.5 million weddings this year, a 30% increase from the prior year and a number not seen in four decades, according to The Wedding Report.
Prices are surging, too. The average couple spent $27,063 on their wedding in 2021, up from $20,286 in 2020.
Couples are getting creative to save money, while wedding vendors continue to face supply chain headwinds leading to shortages.

Nicole Brandfon and her fiance Adam Alonso are planning a wedding in Colombia, rather than Miami, because it was more affordable.
Source: Nicole Brandfon

Nicole Brandfon and her fiance, Adam Alonso, will hop on a plane from Florida to South America early next year for a destination wedding. The international trip wasn’t their original plan, but it’s saving them money.
The couple, engaged since last June, had been dreaming of holding their wedding in Miami, where they both work and reside. But as they started to plan, the duo quickly realized prices were out of reach and venue availability was slim to none for their intended time frame, either in late 2022 or early 2023.

“We spent three or four months looking at a lot of different venues and realized that we weren’t going to be able to afford Miami,” said Brandfon, a 29-year-old account director at a public relations agency.
Brandfon and Alonso’s decision to marry abroad is just one example of how couples are getting creative to contend with the rising costs of putting on a wedding. Vendors are overbooked with pent-up demand created by the Covid pandemic. They’re also facing supply chain headwinds leading to shortages. At the same time, inflation is driving up the cost of everything from food to labor.
Read more: Surging prices force consumers to ask: Can I live without it?
As a result, many couples are making trade-offs and rethinking priorities — opting for the dream wedding gown or the open bar over the extravagant floral arrangements.
Brandfon and Alonso will say “I do” in February in the Caribbean coastal town of Cartagena, Colombia, at a fraction of the cost they were quoted closer to home. Now they’re able to have a wedding planner, and they intend to serve a variety of foods at a fully seated dinner, according to Brandfon. 

“Florida, or anywhere in the U.S., really,” she said, “if we wanted anything extra it seemed like it was going to be another couple thousand dollars.”

Cutting line items

Nearly 7 million couples in the U.S. are expected to tie the knot in the next three years, according to industry research firm The Wedding Report. The pandemic delayed weddings for many of them and accelerated relationship timelines for others, spurring engagements between partners who spent more time together — and enjoyed the extra company — when lockdowns persisted.

This year, couples are expected to host roughly 2.5 million weddings, a 30% increase from the prior year and a number not seen in four decades, according to The Wedding Report. In the next two years, the number is expected to taper off slightly, the national trade group says, but not by much. Americans are projected to plan 2.24 million weddings next year, and 2.17 million the year after.
The amount that couples are spending to tie the knot keeps creeping up, too. In 2021, the average couple spent $27,063 on their wedding, according to The Wedding Report, up from about $24,700 per couple in 2019. In 2020, around the onset of the pandemic, many couples opted for smaller ceremonies with fewer frills and spent an average of $20,286.
As celebrations roar back, couples are finding line items they can cut.
More couples are choosing to host weekday weddings, said Kim Forrest, a senior editor at WeddingWire. That helps with limited venue availability, but it comes with a cost advantage, too: Some venues offer discounts for events to be held on less-frequented days in the middle of the week.
The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, for example, charges a $10,000 facility fee for the property’s Deerpark venue for a Saturday wedding this fall. For a Friday or Sunday, the fee will run you $8,000.

Guest counts are also up, and that’s going to cost more money.

Shane McMurray
founder of The Wedding Report

Forrest also noted that weddings held in the South tend to be less expensive than those in the Northeast, with cities like Boston and New York driving up the national average.
Prices on key wedding expenses are projected to be “much higher” this year than in recent years, in large part due to heightened food, labor and transportation costs, said Shane McMurray, founder of The Wedding Report. Plus, vendors that are seeing demand for bookings spike now have the ability to name their price, he said.
“These are the things that people care about the most — the food and the bar, the photography services, and of course the venue,” he said. “Guest counts are also up, and that’s going to cost more money.”
That means couples could make sacrifices elsewhere along the planning process, he said, which would be a loss for some vendors. Couples might deprioritize paying for a wedding planner, for example, so long as they don’t mind doing the extra work themselves.
Couples spend less money, on average, on beauty and spa services, a ceremony officiant and party favors for their wedding guests, according to data from The Wedding Report. There’s more flexibility with these items to find less-costly options that will still get the job done, McMurray said. Add-ons like a photo booth or a videographer are commonly nixed altogether to stay within budget.

‘We’re going to have to take our prices up’

Vendors feeling the squeeze are trying to be more accommodating, knowing that many couples feel crunched for time and cash.
The 2022 wedding season is in “full bloom” on the heels of a pandemic-driven downturn, said Samira Araghi, founder and owner of San Francisco bridal boutique WildBride.
That means bigger business for WildBride, which offers a selection of bohemian-inspired wedding gowns, from brands such as Pronovias and Willowby, through its website and at its one brick-and-mortar shop on Fillmore Street.
There were moments during the pandemic where it felt as if society was opening back up again and couples were free to hold larger gatherings, she said. But it’s been a bumpy recovery thanks to new virus variants causing periodic spikes.
“When the delta [variant] came, things got canceled again. And then when omicron came, things got canceled again,” she said. “Right now we’re definitely seeing a shift back to normal-sized weddings.”
The most pressing issue that WildBride faces today is getting finished products through the mail, Araghi said, noting that many suppliers have shut down and that several fabrics, dresses and styles have been discontinued. “Supply chain issues are a big deal right now,” she said.

WildBride, a bridal boutique located in San Francisco, is seeing an uptick in demand for its dresses coupled with heightened supply chain complications.
Source: Buena Lane Photography

In search of solutions, WildBride started to offer an “off-the-rack” selection during the pandemic. The dresses in the collection are either older styles or ones that could easily be bought in large batches from designers. Some of the dresses are discounted, depending on the condition.
It’s become an appealing option for women planning a last-minute walk down the aisle or encountering logistical challenges while trying to secure another dress before the big day, Araghi said. It’s also an option for the more price-sensitive customer, so they don’t leave to shop elsewhere.
Araghi said she hasn’t yet been forced to raise prices on items amid widespread inflation, although she’s aware that it’s happening at other vendors such as florists and jewelry shops.
As shipping costs keep rising, though, she said it’s inevitable that the business will have to make adjustments — potentially before the end of the year.
“I do think it’s going to happen that, yes, we’re going to have to take our prices up,” she said.

Post-boom downswing?

David’s Bridal Chief Executive Officer James Marcum doesn’t see the wedding boom nor consumers’ sensitivity to higher prices dissipating anytime soon. That’s why the company has been investing in its digital loyalty program and a vertically integrated supply chain, to be able to offer more perks and manufacture more dresses, he explained in a recent sit-down interview.
Marcum said he has started to notice some brides showing a hesitancy to splurge thousands of dollars for a dress. The retailer has a fairly expansive selection, with prices ranging from $70 to $2,000.
“You’re starting to hear rumblings about the budget sensitivity,” he said.
Of course, that doesn’t mean the bride will forgo a dress altogether. She just might opt for a less-expensive option, Marcum said. “You’re still going to see a robust, brighter [wedding dress] business, but it’s really spreading over 2022 and 2023,” he said.
Brides spent, on average, $1,499 on a wedding dress in 2021, according to The Wedding Report. That figure is expected to reach $1,527 this year, the report said.
By 2024, The Wedding Report projects the number of nuptials held in the U.S. will fall closer to 2018 levels, at 2.14 million. Couples can rest assured that some venues might be easier to come by, by then. But it’s unclear where prices will stand.

Victoria Cela and her fiance Ricardo Goudie are planning to wed in 2024.
Source: Victoria Cela

Victoria Cela, a 27-year-old account executive at a public affairs firm in Florida, is betting on a downswing.
Cela and her fiance, Ricardo Goudie, became engaged in March. Instead of rushing to the altar, the couple is planning a wedding for early 2024 in order to give themselves enough time to save up money to cover the expenses, Cela said.
“Our parents will be helping us, but we obviously want to pitch in as much as we can,” she said. “It’s a luxury because we have more time.”
They plan to host their ceremony at a family member’s home in Coral Gables, just outside Miami, a choice that will allow them to put their money toward other things aside from the venue.
Cela hopes vendors’ prices won’t be so lofty by then.
“Every time I go on a website and gauge their prices, I’m like, ‘OK maybe we need to up the budget a little bit more,'” she said.

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Cox Automotive said on Friday that its Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, which tracks prices of used vehicles sold at its U.S. wholesale auctions, declined 1% in April from March.
Wholesale vehicle prices have dropped 6.4% since the January record.
However, prices are still extremely high, and the index remains up 14% from a year ago.

A sign advertises cash paid for used cars in Alhambra, California on January 12, 2022.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images

DETROIT – Wholesale used-vehicle prices have notably fallen from a record high set in January, signaling the worst of sky-high prices related to higher inflation in the U.S. may be behind us.
Cox Automotive said on Friday that its Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, which tracks prices of used vehicles sold at its U.S. wholesale auctions, declined 1% in April from March, marking the third straight month of declines from the first month of the year.

“We clearly have returned to vehicles depreciating again. That’s a good news story for both inflation and for consumers looking to buy a vehicle,” Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Cox Automotive told CNBC.
Wholesale vehicle prices have dropped 6.4% since the January record. However, prices are still extremely high, and the index remains up 14% from a year ago.
The drop-off in pricing comes as Manheim estimates used retail sales declined 13% in April from March, suggesting demand is easing amid the record-high prices.

Arrows pointing outwards

Automakers for more than a year now have been battling through a semiconductor chip shortage that has sporadically halted production of new vehicles, causing record-low inventories of vehicles and higher prices. The circumstances have pushed many buyers into the used-car market.
Smoke expects used vehicle prices to remain elevated but return to “fairly normal patterns,” with the potential for a few modest price increases later in the year.

“It’s potentially becoming a bit deflationary in that regard,” Smoke said, adding that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s going to a massive price correction. “This is not a commodity market that people are speculating, and used vehicles are assets that actually provide utility to folks.”
“We had an unusual circumstance over the last two years that stimulated demand, and we have limited supply,” he said.
Such declines are good news for the Biden administration, which has blamed much of the rising inflation rates in the country on the used vehicle market. In the past 20 years, used cars’ contribution to inflation averaged zero. In January, it contributed more than 1% on a year-over-year basis, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Persistent inflation has sent prices rising to historic levels over the past year. The trend has been politically damaging for the Biden administration and has stoked fears of “stagflation,” an unwanted mix of rising prices and stagnant economic growth.
 – CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.

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