The Fed has said it: interest rates are coming down. Fed Chairman Jay Powell surprised markets in early December when he announced, somewhat unexpectedly, that the Fed was not planning to raise rates any further, and, in fact, was projecting three rate cuts in 2024 now that inflation has cooled. Surprisingly, the Fed’s quarterly economic projections released in December, the…
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THE PULSE
By Allen-Villere Partners THE PULSE: CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS MARKET ANALYSISThe Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate 11 times to cool inflation, with the last rate increase in July. Most recently, the Federal Reserve held rates steady in December for the third straight time and acknowledged a possibility of three rate cuts in 2024. PIERRE VILLERE’S MARKET ASSESSMENTThe final quarter of the…
Read MoreThe Outlook for Interest Rates
As I have loudly predicted for many months now and wrote in this space again last month: There is no recession in the near term, and none in sight. While that is welcome news to all in our industry, whether it be the large multi-nationals with their all-important shareholder interests to consider, or the privately held independent producer who has…
Read More2023 Outlook/Forecast
Aggregates Industry Positioned For Economic Growth, Market Expansion. By Mark S. Kuhar and Josephine Patterson The Dodge Construction Network held its 2023 Dodge Construction Outlook, a mainstay in the construction industry for more than 80 years. The forecast predicts that total U.S. construction starts will be unchanged in 2023 at $1.08 trillion. When adjusted for inflation total construction starts will…
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