The Beige Book report released by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday (April 23) sends a heavy signal: the Trump administration's tariff policy is triggering a chain reaction across the United States, with prices rapidly rising in many places and economic activity significantly slowing down. This latest report, based on a survey of 12 regional Federal Reserve banks, shows that businesses and households are struggling to cope with the chaos caused by sudden changes in trade policies, with economic uncertainty surging to twice that of the previous report (mentioned 80 times) and 107 directly related tariff impacts.

Various industries sound the alarm, and the cloud of stagflation hangs over them

Consumer panic buying and price chaos

The report captured the "rush buying" before the tariffs came into effect, with people rushing to purchase imported cars and other goods. But with it comes confusion in corporate pricing - machinery manufacturers in the Chicago Federal Reserve area are forced to adjust prices daily, Richmond Federal Reserve coffee roasters are experiencing "historic cost increases," and sheet metal manufacturers are facing an order drought due to steel tariffs.

Investment freeze and layoff undercurrent

Multiple regions have experienced investment decision-making paralysis: military equipment manufacturers have stated that the environment is "too chaotic" and have suspended investment; The construction industry is expected to see a sharp drop in demand due to tariff costs. Even more concerning is that the Atlanta and St. Louis Federal Reserve have reported that companies are planning to lay off employees, while the San Francisco Federal Reserve has confirmed that actual layoffs have occurred in various industries, and the signs of stagflation, where wages and prices are rising together, are beginning to emerge.

Regional economic collective stall

Cleveland: Demand may plummet sharply after a brief boom in the construction industry.

Richmond: Enterprises are facing "epic cost pressure" and order uncertainty.

San Francisco: Imported commodity price pressure spreads to the entire industry.

Summary: The Federal Reserve presses the pause button, raising expectations of interest rate cuts

Faced with this' tariff shock wave ', the Federal Reserve has chosen to wait and see. Although the May meeting is likely to keep interest rates unchanged, the market is betting on a rate cut starting in June. The warning of "significantly deteriorating prospects" in the Brown Book and Powell's emphasis on this report suggest that policy shifts may occur earlier than expected. When the number of mentions of uncertainty in the report skyrockets to 80 times, the speeding train of the US economy may be forced to pull up the handbrake.