One way companies are concealing higher prices: Smaller packages

Costco executives said last week they were paying higher prices for inventory — as much as 20 percent more for beef, for example, and up to 10 percent more on clothing. Though the warehouse chain has so far shouldered most of those increases, along with rising costs for freight, transportation and labor, Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said it may have to raise prices on such staples as its $4.99 rotisserie chicken or 40-pack of bottled water, now $2.99, to maintain profit margins. “Inflation pressures abound,” he said in an earnings call.