Housing & Economy

Consumer Economics

Double-digit beauty sales in H1 position beauty as potential recession-proof industry, but brands must stay flexible amid changing trends; drivers are indulgent consumer mindset, self-care focus, growing base of households making over US$100,000/year: NPD
Beauty Packaging (08/02)

US disposable personal income up 0.7% in June, personal consumption expenditures up 1.1%; monthly changes reflected increase in compensation and proprietors' income, increase in spending for goods and services: Dept. of Commerce
U.S. Dept. of Commerce (DOC) (08/02)

Employee Compensation & Benefits

2022 IoPP Salary Survey reflects employees are more confident about their prospects than they were at the outset of the pandemic, thus less risk averse and open to changing jobs; employers have to pay more to retain an already scarce labor
Packaging World (08/01)

Labor Scarcity/Skills Shortage

US construction spending decreased 1.1% in June from May, up 8.3% from June 2021; materials and labor shortages are slowing schedules, increasing cost of construction: AGC of America
The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC of America) (08/02)

S&P Global/CIPS UK Manufacturing PMI in July fell to 25-month low of 52.1 from 52.8 in June; decline led by lower intakes of new work, new export business while job creations posted surprise gain as companies addressed staff shortages
S&P Global Inc. (08/01)

Energy Indicators

US national gas price average fell 14 cents to US$4.21 in week ended Aug. 1 and 63 cents from month ago; steady drop in prices could end as gas demand rose to 9.25 million b/d from 8.52 million last week, gasoline inventories fell by 3.3 million bbl: AAA
American Automobile Association (AAA) (08/02)

US average on-highway diesel fuel price in week ended Aug. 1 decreased to US$5.138/gallon from US$5.268/gallon last week; average regular gasoline price decreased to US$4.192/gallon from US$4.330/gallon: EIA
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) (08/02)

Employment Statistics & Trends

Number of US job openings decreased to 10.7 million on last day of June, hires and total separations little changed at 6.4 million, 5.9 million respectively; quits and layoffs and discharges little changed at 4.2 million and 1.3 million, respectively: BLS
U.S. Dept. of Labor (DOL) (08/02)

J.P.Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI in July at two-year low of 51.1 from 52.2 in June, output stagnated and new order intakes contracted; international trade flow continued to fall, job creation weakened as businesses confidence at lowest since May 2020
S&P Global Inc. (08/02)

Interest Rates

Chicago Board of Trade agricultural futures sharply higher during week of July 25 as US central bank announces it will likely raise rates again in September, with future rate depending on US economic data
Xinhua News Agency (08/01)

Inflation

J & J Snack Foods reports fiscal Q3 net earnings of US$15.6M, down 46.1% from year-ago period, largely the result of rising inflation; net sales rise 17.2% to US$380.2M
Globe Newswire (08/02)

US nonresidential construction spending down 0.5% in June, up 1.2% year-over-year; aggregate nonresidential construction spending failed to recover to pre-pandemic levels in nominal terms despite inflationary pressures: Associated Builders and Contractors
Associated Builders and Contractors (08/02)

Housing Affordability

Share of prospective US homebuyers who can afford less than half the homes in their markets fell to 77% in Q2 from 81% in Q1; pool of buyers tilting towards wealthier buyers that are able to absorb increases in mortgage rates: NAHB
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) (08/02)

Home Ownership

US homeownership rate reported at 65.8% in Q2, statistically unchanged from Q1's reading of 65.4%; national homeowner vacancy rate was flat at 0.8%, while the rental vacancy rate decreased to 5.6%: NAHB
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) (08/02)

Mortgages/Home Financing

New US multifamily lending reached US$487.3B in 2021 for apartment buildings with five or more units, up 35% from 2020's level of US$359.7B; 32% of active lenders made five or fewer multifamily loans during the year: Mortgage Bankers Assn.
Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) (08/02)

New Homes

LGI Homes reports Q2 net income up 4.4% year-over-year to US$123.4M on home sales revenues down 8.6% to US$723.1M, closings fell 29.0% to 2,027 homes; 5.0% improvement in gross margin to 32% and 4.6% improvement in adjusted gross margin to 33.1%
LGI Homes Inc. (08/02)

Century Communities announced five new communities in Central California market; communities will consist of single-family homes from the high US$300s with contemporary open-concept layouts, on-trend included features
Century Communities Inc. (08/01)

Residential Construction & Real Estate

Some 22% of US prospective homebuyers in Q2 expect search for a home to become easier in the months ahead, up from 17% in Q1; 67% expect housing availability to be harder or remain unchanged, down from 74% in Q1: NAHB
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) (08/01)

US construction spending in June estimated at seasonally adjusted annual rate of US$1.76T, down 1.1% from revised May estimate and 8.3% above June 2021; residential construction down 1.6% from May at US$923.7B: Dept. of Commerce
U.S. Dept. of Commerce (DOC) (08/01)

Commercial Construction & Real Estate

US senators pass Water Resources Development Act, which focuses on construction of projects under Army Corps of Engineers' jurisdiction, including flood control, disaster mitigation and restorations; bill aims to facilitate freight flow along waterways
Transport Topics (08/02)

Vanderbilt University Medical Center plans US$500M expansion to increase Midtown hospital patient capacity by about 25%; 15-level tower to have up to 180 new patient beds, with new 470,000 square-foot link building adding 10 operating rooms
The Oak Ridger (08/01)

Corporate Management

Pace for onshoring is picking up following the pandemic, according to the Reshoring Initiative; an estimated 260,000 new manufacturing jobs will come back to the US in 2022 in various sectors, from microchip makers to diaper makers and steel production
Talk Business (08/01)

Shiseido will transfer personal-care manufacturing at its Kuki Factory and Vietnam Factory to subsidiary Fine Today Shiseido; transfer supports FTS in building a management system to integrate manufacturing and sales, will be done in a transfer of shares
Shiseido Co. (08/01)

Corporate Financing

Titanium Transportation Group receives approval to list its common shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange; common shares will begin trading on the TSX on August 3 under the symbol 'TTNM' and be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange
GlobeNewswire (08/02)

K-C Mexico raises 10B pesos from sale of two 12 and five-year bonds on the Mexican Stock Exchange, BMV; 12-year term will pay a fixed rate of 9.30% with equal amortizations in years 10, 11 and 12, while five-year term will pay a variable interest rate
CE Noticias Financieras (08/02)

Corporate Economics

S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI at 52.2 in July, down from 52.7 in June, the lowest reading for two years; decline led by first drop in output since June 2020, reflecting weaker demand conditions as new orders declined at fastest pace in two years
S&P Global Inc. (08/01)

S&P Global Eurozone Manufacturing PMI in July fell to 49.8 from 52.1 in June, first contraction in manufacturing sector conditions since May 2020; demand fell due to steep inflation, led to sharpest decline in new orders since 2012 sovereign debt crisis
S&P Global Inc. (08/01)

Small Businesses

Michigan Economic Development Corporation grants 23 small manufacturers around Michigan a total of nearly US$500,000 to help them adopt Industry 4.0 technologies; grants will cover additive manufacturing, AI, cybersecurity, robotics and automation, more
US Official News (08/02)

Asset-based 3PL Fox Logistics deploys marketing agency Trust Relations to promote newly acquired AI-powered freight automation platform Boxton; platform adds over 150 global customers to FL's portfolio, expands offerings to small-, medium-sized businesses
PR Web (08/02)

Country Economics

UK general government gross debt was £2.37T at the end of Q1, equal to 99.6% of GDP; net borrowing was £15.8B in Q1, or 2.6% of GDP, 0.5% lower than the average deficit of G7 member states: ONS
UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) (08/01)

Thousands   |   Latest: May/22

Total, Seasonally Adjusted   |   Latest: 07/23/22

Total, Not Seasonally Adjusted   |   Latest: 07/23/22

Total, Seasonally Adjusted   |   Latest: 07/23/22

%   |   Latest: Jun/22

%   |   Latest: Jul/22

%   |   Latest: 07/28/22

Real/US$   |   Latest: 08/02/22

Index 1985=100   |   Latest: Jul/22

Leading Indicators

Interactive Chart: Click on legend/key to see full view on your dashboard

Interactive Chart: Click on legend/key to see full view on your dashboard

Sources: Industry Intelligence Inc.,Census Bureau