My youngest son is a long-haul trucker. I won't name the company he drives for, but 85% of their business WAS hauling freight for Amazon and UPS. In 2021 he was making $3000/week. Last year he averaged $2000/week. So far this year he's averaging around $1200/week because there is hardly any freight to haul compared to the last few years. They are starting to lay off drivers now. Three years ago they didn't have enough and had to turn away business because they knew they couldn't deliver due to lack of drivers.
Now .. deliveries are delayed because the product can not be built and shipped in time to meet the order. There are spot shortages of many commodities. I am friends with a property manager of a large apartment complex -- she's been waiting for a refrigerator for over three weeks.
The lack of economic activity around the time that Ukraine was invaded was not a fluke. There was another thing that happened about that time, and a LOT of things went to chit about that time. About that time is when ... the current regime took control of the White House.
I'm sure it was a coincidence.
I am limited as to how clear I can make that correlation ... the mods don't like it.
But, it is hard to talk about economics without considering politics.
We had a pretty healthy economy up till the regime change.
This is the new normal.
And, my high priced, university level Economics degree and studies in History leads me to believe that things are going to get much worse. I hope I am wrong - I really do.
I hope that in a year someone points out just how wrong I was.
I will be gleefully happy to be 'wrong'.
Remember ... eBay is trying to survive too.
We all are.
Be the best, with the most at the lowest price and you'll be here when this is over.
At best I figure we got about four or five years to come out of this.
Make room in the lifeboat.
