紐時賞析／物價飆漲 企業荷包跟著賺滿滿

Rocketing Prices Of Foods Elevate Company Profits

物價飆漲 企業荷包跟著賺滿滿

A year ago, a bag of potato chips at the grocery store cost an average of $5.05. These days, that bag costs $6.05. A dozen eggs that could have been picked up for $1.83 now average $2.90. A 2-liter bottle of soda that cost $1.78 will now set you back $2.17.

一年以前，雜貨店內一袋洋芋片平均售價為5.05美元。如今一袋是6.05美元。一打雞蛋本可以用1.83美元買到，現在平均價格為2.9美元。一瓶售價1.78美元的2公升汽水，如今要價2.17美元。

Something else is also much higher: corporate profits.

其他東西也在走高，如企業獲利。

In mid-October, PepsiCo, whose prices for its drinks and chips were up 17% in the latest quarter from year-earlier levels, reported that its third-quarter profit grew more than 20%. Likewise, Coca-Cola reported profit up 14% from a year earlier, thanks in large part to price increases.

10月中旬，百事公司公布第3季獲利成長超過20%，該季飲料和洋芋片價格較一年前上漲17%。此外，可口可樂公布的獲利年增14%，主要歸因於價格上漲。

Restaurants keep getting more expensive, too. Chipotle Mexican Grill, which said prices by the end of the year would be nearly 15% higher than a year earlier, reported $257.1 million in profit in the latest quarter, up nearly 26% from a year earlier.

上館子用餐也愈來愈貴。年底時售價將比一年前上漲近15%的墨西哥燒烤快餐公司說，該公司上季獲利2億5710億美元，較一年前成長近26%。

For years, food companies and restaurants generally raised prices in small steps, worried that big increases would frighten consumers and send them looking for cheaper options. But over the past year, as wages increased and the cost of the raw ingredients used to make treats like cookies, chips, sodas and the materials to package them soared, food companies and restaurants started passing along those expenses to customers.

多年來，食品公司和餐館通常都是小幅漲價，擔心大幅漲價會嚇到消費者，使得他們尋找更便宜的選擇。但在過去一年，隨著工資調漲，以及製作餅乾、洋芋片、汽水等食品原料跟包裝材料的價格飆升，食品公司和餐廳開始將這些費用轉嫁給顧客。

But amid growing concerns that the economy could be headed for a recession, some food companies and restaurants are continuing to raise prices even if their own inflation-driven costs have been covered. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Chipotle did not respond to requests for comment.

但在人們日益擔心經濟可能走向衰退之際，一些食品公司和餐廳仍在繼續漲價，即便它們受通膨帶動的成本已得到彌補。可口可樂、百事可樂與墨西哥燒烤快餐等公司均未回覆記者的置評請求。

“The recent earnings calls have only reinforced the familiar and unwelcome theme that corporations did not need to raise their prices so high on struggling families,” said Kyle Herrig, the president of Accountable.US, an advocacy organization. “The calls tell us corporations have used inflation, the pandemic and supply chain challenges as an excuse to exaggerate their own costs and then nickel and dime consumers.”

倡議組織Accountable US總裁海瑞格說：「最近的財報電話會議只是強化了一個熟悉且不受歡迎的主題，也就是企業面對苦苦掙扎的家庭，沒必要把價格漲到這麼高。這些會議告訴我們，企業以通膨、疫情及供應鏈挑戰為藉口，誇大自身成本，然後一點一滴榨乾消費者。」

Over the past year, the price of food eaten at home has soared 13%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with some items spiking even higher. Cereals and bakery goods are up 16.2% from a year ago, closely followed by dairy, which has risen 15.9%.

根據美國勞工統計局數據，過去一年家用食品價格飆升13%，有些品項甚至漲更多。穀物和烘焙食品較一年前上漲16.2%，緊追在後的是漲幅15.9%的乳製品。

The cost of eating at restaurants has risen 8.5% over the same period.

同一時期，在餐廳用餐的價格漲了8.5%。

文／Isabella Simonetti、Julie Creswell　譯／陳韋廷

說文解字看新聞

【張佑生】

作者用soar和spike描述物價和企業獲利的驟升。如果細分，soar的增加方式常用於數量或情感。例：soaring unemployment或The price of petrol has soared in recent weeks.至於spike通常用於數目或比率：a spike in interest rates，讀者應很有感。

賠錢生意沒人做，當進貨成本提高到無法自行吸收程度時，勢必轉嫁給消費者。動詞片語包括pass on/through/along。企業降價回饋顧客也這樣用，只是不常見。The car industry is too competitive to pass higher costs along to customers.只能說產業太競爭。

動詞nickel and dime（也可用連字號nickel-and-dime）強調一點一滴地耗損。通膨、疫情、供應鏈出包都是漲價的理由，消費者還沒搞清楚是怎麼一回事前，已被剝了好幾層皮：The banks nickle and dime you to death with all the little fees they charge you.（銀行用一筆又一筆小額費用積少成多地把人壓垮。）