Elgin Area Chamber Of Commerce: Trade Deficit Hits Record, Business Group Fights Tax Plan, US Hotel Occupancy Falls

Press release from the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce:

October 29, 2021

The U.S. trade deficit hit a record in September. (Getty Images)

By Richard Lawson
CoStar News
 

Trade Deficit Hits Record
 

The U.S. trade deficit hit another record in September, beating the previous mark just set in August.

The Commerce Department reported the deficit reached $96.3 billion in September, a 9.2% increase over August. U.S. exports fell $7 billion to $142.2 billion as imports rose $1.1 billion to $238.4 billion.

Industrial supplies saw the largest decrease in exports, falling 9.9%. All but one category fell. Consumer goods saw a 4.2% increase.

From the imports side, auto imports fell 7.7%, a reflection of the global computer ship shortage. U.S. auto exports, which are about half the number imported, slid 2%, again showing the impact the chip shortage has had on production.

Within imports, “other goods” saw the biggest percentage gain at 8%, followed by a 3.6% increase in capital goods.

In addition to a chip shortage, a supply chain struggling to keep up with demand could be a major factor in the trade deficit increasing.

Business Group Fights Tax Plan
Two major business groups reportedly plan to fight the Democrats on plans to increase taxes on billionaires and deploy a 15% minimum tax on the largest U.S. companies.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and The Business Roundtable each said they would ramp up lobbying efforts to scuttle the taxes, CNBC reported.

For its part, the chamber said the tax push is coming too quickly, expressing concern that lawmakers haven’t had enough time to digest and understand the potential consequences. The Business Roundtable is opposed to the corporate minimum tax.
“Business Roundtable will continue to lobby against harmful tax increases on America’s job creators, including the 15% ‘book minimum tax’ currently being discussed,” a spokesperson for the Roundtable told CNBC.

Congressional Democrats proposed the taxes to help pay for a so-called soft infrastructure plan that includes a big increase in social spending. The cost has been whittled down from $3 trillion to $1.75 trillion but may be cut further.

US Hotel Occupancy Falls
Average weekly U.S. hotel occupancy fell some last week but even with the drop it isn’t far off of 2019 levels.

Hotels averaged 63.9% occupancy in the week that ended Oct. 23, a 1.1 percentage point drop from the previous week, according to the latest data from hotel industry research firm STR, which is owned by CoStar Group.

Two years ago, occupancy was dipping this time of year. STR’s index shows that the last week’s number, though down, narrowed the gap with 2019. Average daily room rates stayed roughly the same last week as the previous week at $134.14.

The six-week convention season is over now, which means occupancy rates could shift lower given prior year trends. “With Halloween landing on a Sunday this year, we may eke one more week out but it’s unlikely business travelers or groups will do anything exceptionally out of the ordinary next week,” Kelsey Fenerty, a senior analyst with STR, wrote in her weekly summation.

Nashville, Tennessee, moved back to the top of the 25 largest tourism markets for occupancy, recording 78.2% for the week, which is more than 7 percentage points off of 2019 levels.

Source: CoStar Group, www.costar.com

This press release was produced by the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.