October 21st – Stacked Deck

What I’m Reading

Stacked Deck: Perhaps the biggest reason for the current truck capacity shortage is the surge of goods moving west to east.  Simply put, there is too much freight exiting Southern California and too little coming into the area.  The problem will persist until the imbalance eases.  Think of this as the logistics version of the UHaul Moving Index.  FreightWaves

Today in The Everything Shortage: More than 18 months after the initial COVID outbreak, the supply of basic goods at grocery stores is falling victim to shortages and delays.  Its not that we lack food, but rather we fall short on processing and transportation capacity to meet rising demand as the economy continues to heat up.  The result, of course, will be higher prices.  Yahoo Finance 

Building Boom: There are currently more housing units under construction than any time since 1974.  A big part of this is due to a high level of starts, which are high but nowhere near all time highs.  Another aspect is that construction is taking longer, meaning that units are staying in the pipeline longer.  Calculated Risk Blog

Frenzy: Demand for single-family rental homes is showing no sign of easing,  pushing rents through the roof, especially for the highest-priced properties.  If this is occuring with mortgage rates near record lows, I imagine that it would be amplified when rates rise, straining affordability further and pushign marginal buyers towards renting.  CNBC

Pain Point: Depleted reserves, delayed renovations and a lack of recovery in the business travel space could force some struggling homeowners to sell.  Bisnow

Chart of the Day

I’ve been hearing for months about how the end of forbearance would lead to a surge in listings.  Its certainly not happening yet.  Listings are down since forbearance ended.  

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Source: Altos Research

WTF

Joyride: A pantsless police officer who was pulled over for suspicion of DUI asked if he could put some pants on before getting out of his truck because Florida.  Click Orlando

Letter of the Law: A man appearing for arraignment on a battery charge was arrested  after striking a female victim “with the letter ‘G’” the he removed from a courthouse sign because Florida.  The Smoking Gun

Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related. 

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