- by Chris Dyer
- August 7 2019
- food and beverage
- Materials & Chemicals
Turning to Terpenes: New Opportunities in Cannabis Products
Terpenes – the aromatic compounds found not only in cannabis, but a wide range of plants – are a largely untapped source of revenue for firms across a wide range of industries. As more isolate-based cannabis products enter the market, producers are seeking to keep the chemical profiles of their products true to nature by reintroducing the natural terpenes before retail.
- by Chris Dyer
- August 7 2019
- automotive
- environment
Electrifying Demand for Trucks & Buses
With environmental concerns increasing exponentially around the world, many automotive firms are directing their research and development towards electric vehicles. By electrifying medium- and heavy-duty (MD/HD) vehicles, a large portion of potential emissions typically created by traditional engines will be eliminated.
- by Owen Stuart
- August 7 2019
- athletic footwear
- China
- consumer goods
- Consumer Products
- Trade
Shoe Production Set for Cross-Border Trek as China’s Labor Costs Rise
The US footwear market is heavily dependent on Chinese sourcing; as of 2018, the country accounted for 53% of all footwear imports. While this makes China the largest provider of footwear to the US, China’s market share has been falling from a 2010 peak of 76%.
- by Chris Dyer
- August 7 2019
- automotive
- consumer goods
- environment
Embracing Electric Cars Around the Globe
As climate change grips the globe and car sales in dominant markets begin to slump, numerous countries are embracing the novelty of all-electric personal vehicles – some more so than others. With purchase assistance coming in the form of government-subsidized credits, will electric vehicles overtake traditional internal-combustion-engine-driven vehicles?
- by Chris Dyer
- July 9 2019
- Business
- services & miscellaneous
Bikesharing: Boon or Bane for Bike Shops?
Bikesharing programs have grown in popularity in recent years and are sweeping cities across the nation as an environmentally friendly form of public transportation. Their presence certainly sparks interest in cycling among a demographic far-removed from bicycles in their daily lives, but will traditional bike sales benefit or be cannibalized by a new rental industry?
- by Chris Dyer
- June 19 2019
- lodging
- services & miscellaneous
Airbnb Finds Competition in an Unlikely Place
Airbnb has quickly grown from a novel idea to rent air mattresses to strangers for a night to a major player in the lodging and travel industry, and the growth has caught the attention of numerous parties.
- by Owen Stuart
- June 17 2019
- automotive
- consumer trends
- services & miscellaneous
Car Subscriptions on the Rise, but Face Serious Roadblocks
Quick question: what products can you sell as a service? Clothing? Check. Furniture? Check. Music? Check. Cars? Yes indeed. Even Americans’ love affair with vehicle ownership is going by the wayside – or so it seems. Proclamations of the end of personal car ownership are in vogue. Car subscription services – where consumers pay a fixed monthly fee to drive a vehicle they are renting – are one of the innovative services aiming to liberate us all from the responsibility of ownership. However, the prospects of car subscriptions as a mass-market mobility service appear limited.
- by Leon Mengri
- June 10 2019
- services & miscellaneous
Key Trends in the US Aircraft Industry
The US civil aircraft industry is projected to continue growing through 2023, with shipments expected to reach a nominal value of more than $100 billion that year. In part, the growing volume of aircraft assembled in the US by Airbus will help boost output. That and other key trends in the US industry are outlined below.
- by Owen Stuart
- May 13 2019
- automotive
- services & miscellaneous
Two Reasons Body Shop Firms Keep Getting Bigger
In February 2019, Caliber Collision acquired ABRA Auto Body & Glass, and the new company is expected to operate over 1,000 locations in the US. This acquisition (which was predictable) is emblematic of the market share gains that the “Big Four” body shops – ABRA Auto Body & Glass, Caliber Collision, Gerber Collision & Glass, and Service King – effected over the last decade.
- by Owen Stuart
- May 13 2019
- financial services
- money and finance
- services & miscellaneous
Fiduciary Quandary: States Rewrite the Rules on Who’s a Fiduciary
After the US Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Duty rule was struck down by a federal appeals court in 2018, the federal government has yet to issue another iteration of the rule. However, a handful of states are attempting to create a robust standard.