What I'm Reading Head for the Border: Onshoring and nearshoring production trends will increase emphasis on logistics facilities near border locations and intermodal hubs with sizable rail and road infrastructures. San Diego, Detroit and San Antonio could emerge as winners as well as several Atlantic coast port cities. Globe Street...
July 15th – Looking Ahead
What I'm Reading Looking Forward: CPI hit a 40-year high but its a backward-looking number. Many forward looking indicators are starting to tell a very different story – a story of falling demand and falling prices, and the risk of falling into deflation. Pragmatic Capitalism Beat the Heat: Some employees...
July 14th – No Shelter
What I'm Reading Walk Out: Some California truckers who move containers in and out of the marine terminals at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach say they plan to participate in a work stoppage Wednesday to protest a controversial state law, AB5, that seeks to limit the use...
June 24th – Pulling the Ripcord
What I'm Reading Pulling the Ripcord: Looking back, the non-bank mortgage lenders rushing to sell shares to the public last year was probably the peak of the business cycle. Since then, borrowing costs have doubled, the market has slowed to a crawl and the buyers of those IPOs are left holding...
June 15th – Tapping the Brakes
What I'm Reading Tapping the Brakes: From construction cost increases, to higher interest rates and rate cap costs and slowing sales, inflation is taking a toll on the CRE industry. Globe Street My guess? We are about to see a substantial slowdown in new development as the cost of capital...
June 2nd – Out of Balance
What I'm Reading Out of Balance: Households boosted spending in April but drew heavily on savings in order to do so. Higher-income consumers are likely healthy enough to continue funding their spending through savings for a while as their excess savings are significant. However, lower income households do not have...
June 1st – Disconnect
What I'm Reading Disconnect: US Economic data aren't adding up. Incomes indicate a very strong economy while expenditures show a somewhat weakening one. Something in the data is incorrect. The Overshoot Bullwhip: Lumber prices have shed over 50% since March and lumber yards are filling up as mills slow their...
May 24th – Shock and Awe
What I'm Reading Shock and Awe: Amazon has put 10m square feet of warehouse space on the market (it could reportedly go up to 30m sf) as the ecommerce giant deals with excess supply brought online during the pandemic. However, a deeper look tells a different story. The 10m sf...
May 10th – Clearing the Deck
What I'm Reading Clear the Deck: Western ports are bracing for increased congestion when China eventually lifts stringent Covid-19 restrictions in major cities, which could come just as many importers start to load up for the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons. The race is on to clear existing cargo and...
May 2nd – Whipsaw
What I'm Reading Whipsaw: US GDP surprised to the downside last week, declining 1.4%. The drop stemmed from a widening trade deficit. Imports to the U.S. surged and exports fell, dynamics reflecting pandemic-related supply-chain constraints. A slower pace of inventory investment by businesses in the first quarter—compared with a rapid...