The July retail sales numbers released by the Commerce Department on Thursday continued to reinforce that the resilient consumer has kept the economy afloat amid trade tensions and an unstable economic environment outside of the United States. The question is, how long will it last? While retail sales showed strength across many sectors, the highlight ... READ MORE >
Consumer Products
From retail to restaurants, consumer products includes many sectors and subsectors. The industry includes many well-known brands with loyal customers and employees, and ownership structures ranging from family owned businesses to public and PE-backed companies.
US data deluge: cold cup of coffee on a sunny summer day
This morning’s data deluge provided a perfect snapshot of the U.S. economy at the current time. A robust consumer, driven by strong real compensation in the first quarter of the year, continued to prop up the American economy, even as the domestic manufacturing sector contracted by 0.5% on a year-ago basis. For those not keeping score at home, ... READ MORE >
Think China is paying for tariffs? Guess again
The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is on pace to collect more than $72 billion in import duties as a result of U.S. tariffs so far this year. An oft-repeated claim is that China is paying the cost of these new duties. But we have data showing exactly who is paying--U.S. businesses and households. Researchers at Harvard University, the University of ... READ MORE >
Despite strong consumer spending, higher costs bite into consumer margins
Even as trade disputes and other economic headwinds surface in 2019, the U.S. consumer has held strong and continues to fuel growth in the domestic economy, albeit at a slower pace than in recent years. Last Wednesday, the Federal Reserve cut the federal funds rate by 25 basis points. Another 25-basis-point cut before the end of 2019 would not be a ... READ MORE >
Consumer companies stand to gain from opportunity zones
Opportunity zones—those specially created districts that offer tax breaks to investors—provide some attractive benefits to consumer businesses. The U.S. Treasury Department in April clarified many of the outstanding questions related to OZs, which were created under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to spur economic growth in lagging geographic areas. The ... READ MORE >
A data scientist could keep Amazon from kicking you off its platform
On May 28, Bloomberg reported that Amazon may stop taking wholesale orders from smaller vendors, a move intended to drive efficiencies and ensure that the tech giant maintains healthy supplies of its most in-demand products. Amazon quickly refuted the article, telling Fast Company: “We review our selling partner relationships on an individual basis as part ... READ MORE >
Can consumers carry the economy amid weak business investment?
Durable goods orders in April showed broad weakness, as expected, falling 2.1 percent. However, in addition to April results, March durable goods numbers were also revised downward, compounding the impact and creating a weaker trend. A closer look at the data demonstrates that shipments of goods, excluding aircraft, were down sharply; this can be considered ... READ MORE >
A pivot point for agriculture : Can agritech save farming?
The U.S. agriculture sector has been hard hit in recent years due to changing global demand and the onset of the Trump administration’s trade conflicts. Growth of real net farm income in 2019 dollars has been negative in nine of the past 19 years. Since 2011 the major agriculture states in the Midwest have experienced negative growth, while California—the ... READ MORE >
Financial crisis monitor: agriculture sector at risk
A little over a year ago we sat down with a senior Trump administration official to discuss a looming trade spat with a variety of U.S. trade partners. The discussion included a frank exchange about the ill logic of a policy pathway that included tariffs and quotas, optimal tariff theory by industry and, ultimately, the need to begin putting together a ... READ MORE >
Wholesale gasoline prices point to 8% rise in retail costs in time for summer holidays
U.S. consumers are likely to feel a modest jolt in commuting costs, as wholesale gasoline futures now point to an 8 percent rise in retail gasoline prices in coming days, with risk of a much more pronounced increase to follow. The surge is due to non-market derived pricing action caused by a recent policy shift from Washington on waivers around imports of ... READ MORE >