This economics stuff is complex...

Link

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Prices of goods imported into the U.S. climbed 2.3% in September, the highest in 15 years, as costs of natural gas and oil continued to rise.

he September import price index was far above the 0.9% expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

Prices for imported natural gas rose 28.8% in September, as imported oil prices rose 7.3%, the Department of Labor said Thursday.

Excluding oil, import prices climbed a record 1.2%. Excluding all fuels, prices rose 0.4%.

August's import price index was revised to 1.2% from 1.3%.

Now let's see...with labor squeezed, this should keep the tendency toward recession, but this will show up as price increases all around, and for lots of stuff people actually use: construction materials, seafood, half the crap at Wal-Mart, etc.

This type of price increase can't be washed away by raising interest rates; it can only be addressed by doing something that hasn't been done for a while: making more goods in the US.

But why do that? Is there a real cost-advantage yet? Probably not; I don't think we're at this point yet, where workers making stuff by themselves can cut out the middle man and make a profit.