The consumer price index for used cars and trucks skyrocketed 40.5% between January 2021 and January 2022, according to new U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The problems began as a high demand for freezers when people were stockpiling food at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It snowballed from there into a long-term shortage of semiconductors that has left Dakota TV & Appliance, as well as other local businesses, high and dry while trying to maintain profits and salvage relationships with increasingly impatient customers.