Falling Gas Prices Match Falling Consumer Moods
After hovering at a level significantly above that of historic norms the RBOB to retail spread recently began to close once again. As a result prices at the pump are beginning to drop with gas in this area down almost 30 cents in the last two weeks. The decreases seem to take much longer than the increases and indeed it was one station that dropped prices 20 cents on Friday that forced the others to cave. Demand has been down for 8 straight weeks but is it too late for the US economy? Have speculators managed to take the life out of the economy and leave us with stagnant, less than useful growth rates? I think so and I believe the proof is already accumulating.
One of the first signs we see is a quick uptick in the search for "direct" importers of promotional products. These circumvent major suppliers like Leeds to instead bring products directly from the same factories. One problem that occurs is the middleman you are dealing with may or may not be legitimate. As www.alfredolavieri.com has found quite often the answer is clear after the fact. The pinch being created by dozens of these organizations is making it harder for distributors looking to compete. Legitimate importers provide great financial benefit as they eliminate up to 50% of the costs. Next up are the ever diminishing vacations. A recent Amex OPEN Survey found that 21% fewer business owners plan on taking a vacation this year versus just five years ago. Although that is favorable when compared to the year prior it does not represent any type of robust growth.
Charter fishing businesses are already suffering from reduced bookings and are now getting slammed by higher gas prices and the inability to raise prices. If they raise prices to match their costs they will leave even more customers behind. Bars and restaraunts are facing higher costs on all goods and services from food to booze but also cannot pass much of it on without alienating customers. For all the talk of job creation and income growth the only thing that would really get this economy going hard in the right direction would be a sharp and rapid drop in oil and gas prices. Gas back down around $2.99 a gallon would save the average driver going through a tank a week about $1,000 a year. That's a lot of money in the scheme of things.
Off track for a moment but one of the questions we get more than any other is "what are PMS colors." I came across a wonderful blog posting that discusses precisely what PMS colors are and how they are used in the promotional products industry. Pantone based colors are the backbone of the industry outside of basic printing. That article is a great little refresher on what Pantone col