Historically, TV prices in the US have consistently gone down over time. This pattern of disinflation stretches all the way back to the days when CRTs were the only technology on the market, and was the rule in the flat panel era, except for the anomaly of the pandemic-driven shortage earlier this decade. The most recent data appears to be a departure from that trend, as the YoY price change for TVs is close to flat.
President Trump’s tariffs have altered the TV supply chain and combined with the long stretch of relatively stable LCD TV panel prices, have altered the inflation pattern for TVs in the US. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS’) Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for August, released last week, suggests that the inflation spike generated by the war in Iran has influenced TV prices.
