US consumers rush to buy as Trump tariffs fuel stockpiling

There's a lot about polling in the lined report;

https://www.creditcards.com/statistics/1-in-5-americans-are-...

I honestly struggle to tell how much the info is from polling or real credit card data.

Also lines like:

- 1 in 5 Americans are buying more than usual

Does that mean 4 in 5 ... aren't?

The US consumer is tapped out.

US Consumer Debt Delinquency Hits Highest in Almost Five Years - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-13/us-consum... | https://archive.today/ivRqd - February 13th, 2025

US Consumer Borrowing Surges by $40.8 Billion, Most on Record - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-07/us-consum... | https://archive.today/A19Zs - February 7, 2025

At the same time, the bond market is signaling higher inflation into the future.

The World’s Most Important Market Sends a Warning - https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-02-18/the-wo... | https://archive.today/F7aVw - February 18, 2025

US Consumer Sentiment Drops to Seven-Month Low on Price Worries - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-07/us-consum... | https://archive.today/ixFTn - February 7, 2025

How exactly is that possible? Is inflation not driven by consumer spending?

https://hbr.org/2022/12/what-causes-inflation

https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/money_12856.htm

I hear this sentiment all the time and the associated stats.

But somehow the pendulum of spending always keeps swinging.

As long as it remains profitable to lend after losses, the credit spigot stays open (with cyclic loosening and tightening based on risk appetite and position within the macro cycle).

How The Economic Machine Works by Ray Dalio [video] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHe0bXAIuk0

Many people I know aren't buying squat that they don't need. If they know they're going to need something over the next six months, then the time to buy is now. Everyone knows prices are rising, everyone knows Trump's policies are making it worse, whether that was his intent or not, everyone knows a recession is coming, and everyone knows more layoffs are coming. You don't have to be an economic wizard to see what's coming and to start preparing for it.

Go and buy lots of toilet paper folks!

Eggs, panic buying eggs is the way to go.