Economic Briefing Q3 GDP Starts Out Sluggish US economic growth in the second quarter exceeded expectations on the surface. Growth for the quarter came in at 3.0%, well ahead of initial expectations for growth of just under 1%. Consumer spending, corporate investment in commercial equipment and structures, and government spending highlighted areas of growth. But…

Economic Briefing Second Half 2025 Outlook The latest estimate of Q2 GDP growth shows that the economy may be growing at a 2.9% rate. This is much faster than expected and could set the stage for the second half of the year. Blue Chip economist estimates at the beginning of the second quarter called for…

Economic Briefing Tariff Update At the time of writing a Federal Court had ruled that the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 were illegal and ordered the immediate reversal of those orders. The ruling was being appealed and will likely end up at the Supreme…

Economic Briefing Tariff Update At the time of writing, the first trade deal was yet to be announced. Rumors suggested that any number of countries might be close to announcing a tentative agreement (an agreement in principle or signed letter of agreement) and those could include India, South Korea, Japan, Mexico, and others. Dozens of…

Economic Briefing April 2nd Reciprocal Tariffs Hit – But Uncertainty Might Continue to a Degree There is a lot of uncertainty in the rules and applications of the new US tariff policy, but it looks like there will be a 10% tariff imposed on all trading partners which will go into effect on April 5th.…

Economic Briefing Q1 GDP Estimates Plummet as Concerns Over Tariffs and Layoffs Weighs on Investment The Atlanta Fed GDPNow estimates have fallen sharply in the last several weeks. This measure tracks economic releases throughout the quarter and keeps a running tally of Gross Domestic Product. After showing Q1 growing at nearly 2.3% early in the…

Economic Briefing Tariff Risk and Relative Impacts At the time of writing, 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico were on hold for thirty days pending negotiations and some actions that were going to be taken by both Canada and Mexico in response to Trump Administration demands. China has taken an additional 10% increase in tariffs…

Transportation Briefing Talks to Resume on East and Gulf Coast Ports on Tuesday, January 7th Although no progress has been reported, the ILA and USMX are expected to resume talks on Tuesday, January 7th. The contract deadline is looming (on January 15th ), and the parties are still stuck on differences between the use of automation…