Have you told your friends that this is the year you’re going to start your holiday shopping early? Chances are you made this same vow last year, the year before, and possibly even the year before that – only to wait until the last minute to pick up presents for your friends and family. With trade wars looming it may actually be beneficial to start your shopping now – as businesses predict steep prices for the holiday season. The products that will be affected are those manufactured and shipped from China. Included in those products are everything from toys and apparel to electronics.

When disaster strikes an area, survivors are in crucial need of supplies in order to survive the hardship. In most cases homes, roads, and many structures are decimated making it tricky for survivors to access life saving goods. When a disaster hits an island – survival becomes even tougher. Hurricane Dorian barreled into the Abaco Island and Grand Bahamas at the beginning of September. The Category 5 hurricane slowed down considerably – hovering over the islands from September 1^st to the 3^rd  leaving considerable destruction in its wake. As of today over 1,000 people are still missing with over 70,000 homeless.

The trade industry is not the only career path affected by this generation’s connotation of blue collar jobs. For years it was ingrained in high school students that a college degree was the way to prestige and wealth. In fact, I spent the better part of my twenties convincing people that I had a “real job” in the restaurant industry. As the negative perception spread, the need for laborious jobs increased and entire industries faced a shortage of workers. In an industry that relies heavily on long-haul truck drivers to move goods – the supply chain and logistics business have seen first-hand how far this negative perception can go. According to a report by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) – last year saw 60,000 truck driver positions go unfilled. That number could potentially increase to 160,000 by 2028.