Dow Chemical, Xcel Energy and Idaho barley farmers might not seem to have much in common, but all are “captive shippers.” All depend on rail transport for shipping key raw materials or products yet can get service from only one…
Exchange seats go for big money
Seats on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange now sell for $275,000. Only a few decades ago, plaintive notes in the visitor’s gallery offered seats for $10,000. David Ricardo, perhaps the greatest economist of all time, explained the whole process 200 years…
Home values linked to commuting costs
Location, location, location. Johan von Thunen did not coin that adage on what determines real estate values. But von Thunen’s explanations of the relationships between location, transport costs and product prices remain relevant 180 years after he wrote them. They…
Signs of the real economy are everywhere
The odds are 2008 will be an interesting year for the U.S. economy. That is “interesting” as in “hang onto your hat!” There is plenty of bad news about falling house prices, increasing mortgage defaults, lower consumer confidence and soaring…