Atlanta Fed just asked businesses something interesting: what would you actually *do* if costs suddenly spiked again?
The answers matter more than the question. Because we've spent two years watching companies navigate inflation, and the playbook keeps changing. Some absorbed it. Some passed it through. Some redesigned their entire cost structure.
Now they're being asked to think about round two.
This isn't academic. It's about reflexes. About whether businesses still have pricing power, or whether consumers finally push back. About whether margins compress or wages adjust. About whether the next shock gets absorbed differently than the last one.
The survey responses will tell you what businesses *think* they'll do. But memory is short and circumstances change fast. What worked in 2021 doesn't work in 2025.
Still worth watching. Corporate behavior under cost pressure is one of the best real-time indicators we have. Better than most forecasts.
The answers matter more than the question. Because we've spent two years watching companies navigate inflation, and the playbook keeps changing. Some absorbed it. Some passed it through. Some redesigned their entire cost structure.
Now they're being asked to think about round two.
This isn't academic. It's about reflexes. About whether businesses still have pricing power, or whether consumers finally push back. About whether margins compress or wages adjust. About whether the next shock gets absorbed differently than the last one.
The survey responses will tell you what businesses *think* they'll do. But memory is short and circumstances change fast. What worked in 2021 doesn't work in 2025.
Still worth watching. Corporate behavior under cost pressure is one of the best real-time indicators we have. Better than most forecasts.