Taco Bell, McDonald's, and Dunkin' and are raising prices. Here's how much more you're paying for coffee and food

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Taco Bell, McDonald's, and Dunkin' and are raising prices. Here's how much more you're paying for coffee and food
Yves Herman/Reuters
  • Fast-food prices are rising across the industry.
  • Dunkin', McDonald's, and Taco Bell have had the biggest increases, according to analysts.
  • Shipping issues, labor shortages, and weather events all contribute to rising prices.
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Prices at fast-food chains will continue to rise as ingredients and labor grow more expensive.

Chipotle raised prices across its menu by about 4% in June, a move the company said was prompted by increased wages for workers.

The average Chipotle meal will cost $0.30 to $0.40 more than it did before, and a spokesperson told Insider that the price hike would compensate for the recent wage increases for workers. In April, the fast-casual chain said it would raise average hourly wages to $15 an hour by the end of June, an increase of $2 over the $13-an-hour average pay.

Nearly every fast-food and fast-casual chain will likely follow, analysts at Gordon Haskett said in a report released Thursday.

Read more: Kraft Heinz employees and analysts say 3G Capital's cost-cutting business strategy is setting it up for failure. Here's how the private equity firm's playbook left it playing catchup to its rivals.

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Analysts looked at 24 restaurant chains over the span of a year and found 17 of them increased prices, and price increases, on the whole, are growing in both size and frequency. Quick-service restaurants have made the largest increases, averaging 6% compared with 3% at fast-casual chains and 1% at casual chains. Most of these increases were implemented in March.

According to the Gordon Haskett analysis, the greatest price increases have been 10% at Taco Bell, 8% at McDonald's, and 8% at Dunkin', followed by Chipotle and The Cheesecake Factory. Exact prices vary by market. Applebee's, Papa John's, Red Robin, and a few others have not adopted any price increases over the past year.

Labor costs are partially the cause of these rising prices. A truck-driver shortage is making transportation more expensive, while restaurants, grocery stores, and factories are struggling to stay fully staffed. Processing plants and farms are facing the same problems. For example, chicken farms don't have enough employees, so they're struggling to process birds quickly.

Labor costs might have increased for restaurants over the past year but so did the price of ingredients. US consumer prices hit their highest level in 13 years in May, increasing 5% over the previous year. Staple Chipotle items, like corn and avocados, grew more expensive this year as demand rose and shipping delays drove prices up.

Experts say rising food costs are a combination of growing demand as consumers increase spending and supply-chain struggles. Shipping delays and severe weather events have made crucial commodities more expensive and difficult to obtain.

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Do you have a story to share about a retail or restaurant chain? Email this reporter at mmeisenzahl@businessinsider.com.

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