Scaled Instruments likely sets his prices based on the price he pays Davis. So the price to us consumers is really determined by the price Davis sells its product to Scaled Instruments—so, blame Davis not Scaled.
I am sure that this is a correct reading of the situation. Trade pricing will be at a fixed discount to Davis RRP.
Just to give you one example of price increases: In 2019, a 6410 anemometer Davis RRP was $155 (itself an increase on 2018). In 2024 that same part costs $235 RRP. That's over 50% increase in 5 years. And the anemometer is fairly typical.
Inflation (the US Consumer Price Index, or CPI) in the US from August 2019 (when Davis was acquired by AEM) to March 2024 was a total of 21.7%. Specifically, the CPI level in August 2019 was 256.6 and was 312.3 in March 2024. Davis’ pricing is clearly above that level. There is nothing wrong about this but is fairly typical when a company is acquired by a private equity firm like AEM. They are looking for ways to help pay for its price they paid for a company. Cost cutting is another tool frequently used.