U.S. Economic News
April 22, 2020
U.S. News
The Financial Times reports that despite strong demand from grocery stores, U.S. food producers are struggling with supply chains that cannot be easily shifted from restaurants to supermarkets. Packaging and preparation discrepancies between food destined for food service operations and individual consumers have created bottlenecks and significant financial strain for farmers and ranchers. FT
According to the New York Times, the decline in sales of clothing and accessories by more than half due to the coronavirus pandemic will likely be the final nail in the coffin for many large American department stores. Department store chains had been declining steadily for much of the past decade as e-commerce gained traction and mall rents rose, with very few expected to survive the current cratering of demand. NYT