Last Friday the Department of Commerce released its initial gross domestic product (GDP) report for Q2 2018, which showed estimated growth of 4.1 percent. While that was the fastest quarterly increase since Q3 2014, it was also in line with pre-report expectations. Commerce indicated that net exports accounted for 1.06 percent of the gain, their greatest contribution since 2013. Given the media’s focus on China’s tariffs and the importance of soybean exports, the prevailing narrative in the news is that these were a major driver of this growth. However, there is a deeper story that shows the media accounts may be overselling the impact. According to news reports, the export pace was rushed to get shipments out before tariffs w...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
From WPI Consulting
Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming
WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.