Why are batteries suddenly so expensive?

[Snobdds]

I'm no economist but something's not adding up. I get that adding tariffs reduces demand because it increases prices. How do increased prices lead to lower inflation? Isn't increased prices the very definition of inflation?

Roughly a 10 point tariff jump cuts inflation about 0.5 percentage points while adding about 0.3 points to unemployment.

Same CPI, fewer paychecks.

Tariffs don't lead to inflation, they lead to higher unemployment in low skilled jobs. But so does AI.

So we can big mad at tariffs, when AI does the exact same thing.

 

[Snobdds]

Looks like their analysis on the charts only account for swings from -10% to +15%. Wonder how this would look if they studied daily random whimsical country-specific swings from zero to 150%. Hard to measure the disruption caused by the constant confusion.

The outliers were only out 15% from Standard Deviation.

 

[CH4Ohio]

The outliers were only out 15% from Standard Deviation.

This is why I dropped Statistics . . .

 

[Eagle1]

Look no further than government restrictions. The Doe Run lead smelting shutdown by environmental restrictions. That accounted for 70% of the lead in this country. Nothing to do with tariffs. I don’t remember exactly but the galena belt was a huge operation. Not political just facts.
Optional method.

Doe Run is also the only battery recycler in the USA, all a processed underground in an old leadmine.
They still mine but send all the Galena overseas to process and smelt (verboten in this country). The also mine lead in Peru, process and smelt there, then import the lead into the USA.
That is the made in the USA problem.

 

[Deanes]

I noticed this with an older car I had. Today I'm trying to replace a 1979 VW Beetle battery and I'm seeing $200!
Are they filling batteries with gold now?


WTH ???

Cost is through the roof!
I've always gotten good service with cheap farm store branded batteries, but quality seemed to be getting worse.
3 1\2 years ago another pickup battery failed so I bought the expensive premium one with 4 year full replacement warranty. Cost about $100 more than the cheap one.
Last week it failed. Returning it, I walked out with another 4 year battery at zero cost, not even sales tax. I felt like the smartest man in the store! That will probably be my go-to plan from now on.

 

[Texasmark]

I noticed this with an older car I had. Today I'm trying to replace a 1979 VW Beetle battery and I'm seeing $200!
Are they filling batteries with gold now?


WTH ???

EPA regs is my guess. Dallas had a battery factory for a lot of years and the folks that lived in the area had health problems for a lot of years and attention to that problem wasn't until fairly recently. Not too long ago they were shut down because of that. I think some law suits came as a result once the facts were known. You need lead (Pb) and Sulphuric Acid (H2SO4) to make the popular lead-acid batteries and both are health hazards.

 

[grsthegreat]

Exide batteries move production to india. Alot of other battery brands are not made in usa any longer.

I was surprised on the last batch of AA Duracell batteries i purchased. They were stamped made in china

 

[rontaki]

Even though they cost more, I prefer batteries filled with organic, vitamin-enriched gluten-free vegan electrolyte, as that is much more healthy to drink than the electrolyte made with artificial colors and flavors.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

The "factory"...barefoot workers...

 

[Highlandr]

Go to a real battery store

This is what I do. Pretty much 1/2 the price of auto price stores. If the battery doesn't last the stated lifespan you get money back - pro-rated of course.