Many of us grew up with machines that bring back (fond or maybe not so fond) memories. I grew up on a farm in western Nebraska where we had both farm and construction equipment. We needed the construction equipment to transform one of our farms to accommodate another innovation in 1981 – center pivot irrigation. In the early 1990s, caterpillar introduced their first autonomous trucks to be used in certain mining operations. Today, they boast millions of miles driven and billions of tons of material transported. While much has changed in the last two decades, adoption of the innovation incorporating… Read More »
As the United States enters the year 2024, the economic landscape appears to be a dynamic mix of opportunities and challenges. The nation, having weathered the storm of the COVID-19 pandemic and faced various economic uncertainties, is poised for growth in the coming year. This article delves into key aspects of the United States economic outlook for 2024, exploring factors that will shape the nation’s economic trajectory. Growth Prospects: The U.S. economy is anticipated to continue its recovery and exhibit steady growth in 2024. The combination of robust consumer spending, increased business investment, and government initiatives is expected to drive… Read More »
As we turn the page from one season (football, harvest, road construction) to another (basketball/wrestling, tax, winter), the conversations at the coffee shop and around the break room table will change as well. A few things are always topics though like the weather. But I think what all of us want to know is, “Are the clouds on the horizon storm clouds and if so, what can we expect?” Similar to conversations about the weather many of us have been discussing what is influencing economic trends. Many dealers have weathered all kinds of storms, including economic ones, and you… Read More »
What is the economic outlook for 2024? UBS economists expect economic growth to slow sharply in the next few quarters, with a mild contraction worth half a percentage point in the middle of the year. After posting projected 2.6% growth in 2023 (as of December 2023), the UBS economics team sees GDP growth dropping to just 0.3% in 2024. Accordingly, they expect the unemployment rate to rise to nearly 5% by the end of the year. With that added disinflationary impulse, they expect monetary policy easing in 2024 to drive recovery in 2025, pushing GDP growth back up to roughly… Read More »
As more people are one, two or three generations off the farm, fewer people can share fond memories of visiting or working on their grandparent’s farm. This migration away from farming unfortunately leads to a loss of recognition of how important agriculture is to society and its economic importance to the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service reports that agriculture and its related industries provide about 10 percent of U.S. employment. In 2014, 17.3 million full- and part-time jobs were related to agriculture, which is 9.3 percent of total U.S. employment. Direct on-farm employment provided over… Read More »
