Finally, we close with brief comments on Importing Air, Dollar Stores No More, & At Sea.  First, beverage companies are scrambling for the cans they need for their products.  After beverage can volumes grew less than 1.5% per year from 2016 – 2019, they exploded upward during the Pandemic.  U.S. volumes for beverage cans rose more than 12% in 2020 to 111.6 billion cans. They are expected to grow another 10%+ in 2021 to almost 123 billion cans.  With domestic beverage can manufacturers needing to build new plant that won’t come onstream until H2 2022, beverage companies agreed to pay for the shipping costs from overseas in addition to the costs of the cans to get the beverage cans they needed until these domestic plants come online.  For U.S. beverage companies, we see them Importing Air.  Second, Dollar Tree announced that its traditional stores would now charge $1.25, $1,50, … for the items it used to sell for $1.00.  The company cited cost pressures as both raw material costs and shipping costs rose dramatically over the past year.  With the company saying goodbye to $1.00 prices, we see Dollar Stores No More.  And Third, the Cruise Industry appears set for a record year in 2022.  Cruise bookings have exploded upward as vaccinations roll out and new medicines appear that can turn COVID into a highly treatable disease.  Reflecting these record bookings, cruise prices stand well above 2019 levels.  With the Cruise Industry headed for a record year, we see the public choosing to be At Sea.

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