Ocean Spray CEO on food prices with Thanksgiving around the corner: ‘Things are tight’
Tom Hayes says Ocean Spray increased prices because of higher costs
Ocean Spray CEO on rising costs for raw materials, transportation
Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. CEO Tom Hayes tells 'Mornings with Maria' why he's had to pass on some increased costs to consumers.
Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. CEO Tom Hayes noted on Monday that company costs have risen amid a "tough environment" and said some of it has been passed on to consumers.
"Like everybody else, our costs have gone up," Hayes told "Mornings with Maria" on Monday.
"There’s not an ingredient or a cost that hasn’t gone the wrong direction this year," he stressed.
Ocean Spray produces cranberry juice, dried cranberries and Thanksgiving staple cranberry sauce.
"It’s a tough environment all-around, so costs will be going up on cranberry and cranberry sauce," Hayes added.
Hayes said prices have increased by "low double digits to high single digits."
Ocean Spray is one of several companies hiking prices to combat broad-based and sustained inflationary pressures.
The company has raised prices on consumers in order to offset rising costs that have occurred due to supply chain issues and a shortage of materials and labor coming out of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Things are tight for sure," Hayes told host Maria Bartiromo.
Producer prices rose 0.5% in September, according to the Labor Department. They were up 8.6% year over year, setting a record for a sixth straight month.
Food prices surge with Thanksgiving around the corner
Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. CEO Tom Hayes notes that his company's costs have risen amid a 'tough environment' and says some of the cost has been passed on to consumers.
On Monday, Hayes outlined some of the issues plaguing his company, which include the cost of transportation. He also pointed out that it has been challenging to find available trucks.
"It’s widely talked about… [that] there is a shortage of drivers and so we do see our transportation lane costs going up," he said.
The American Trucking Association reports there is a shortage of 80,000 truck drivers across the country compared to a shortage of around 60,000 drivers headed into the pandemic, according to ATA Executive Vice President for Advocacy Bill Sullivan.
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Hayes also noted that the price of raw materials, including plastic and aluminum has increased.
"For cranberry sauce, aluminum cans are big for us so all that have moved," he said.
In this photo illustration cartons of American brand Ocean Spray cranberry juice stand arranged. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images / Getty Images)
He noted that increased costs are "expected as consumers are getting out and spending more," but stressed that and the supply chain issues "are real for the entire industry and certainly Ocean Spray is not immune to that."
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Hayes pointed out on Monday that Ocean Spray has "plentiful supply" of cranberries with "6.6 million barrels that we anticipate to harvest this year."
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FOX Business’ Jonathan Garber and Jiovanni Lieggi contributed to this report.