The Economic Perspective 2/20/2026

The Latest Trending Economic, Environmental and Infrastructure News Curated for You by The Balmoral Group

The Balmoral Group provides practical, professional and precise Economics, Data Analytics, and Engineering Consulting services and is part of a globally integrated team.

Happy Friday! 

Welcome back readers to another edition of the Economic Perspective! We hope you had a good week watching all the exciting competition going on at the Winter Olympics. The World Economic Forum has reported about significant stockpiles going on around the world and new steps in amassing minerals, gold, grain, and other goods that countries are taking. You can read more about the history of stockpiling, and what is being stockpiled today here.

Articles this week cover a diverse set of topics, including price increases for material producers in the US, federal grant requests for the Hudson River Tunnel, Salmon recovery efforts in the Pacific Northwest and more! The data visualization of the week covers Spain's high-speed rail system and its ability to be a model for the rest of Europe in reducing emissions from more common airline travel.

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Producer Prices Continue to Rise 

Recent analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) shows that the overall producer price index for materials and services used in nonresidential construction rose by 3.3% in December 2025, year-over-year. The change was driven by significant increases in the price indices for aluminum mill shapes (30.5%), steel mill products (17%), fabricated structural metals (10% - 22.2%), and copper and brass mill shapes (11.8%). According to chief economist Ken Simonson, the rise in prices is largely due to the 50% tariff on imported steel, aluminum, and copper products imposed by the U.S. last year. Simonson expects prices to continue to rise in 2026 under current tariff rates. Read more here and see the data here.

States Seek Gateway Funds with Lawsuit at White House

New York and New Jersey have sued the White House with the goal of gaining federal grant funds for the Hudson River Tunnel that they claim are being unlawfully withheld. The Gateway Development Commission warned work would stop soon if federal funding was not provided. The Federal Government claims it wants to review the Gateway’s contracting policies to ensure compliance with new Disadvantaged Business Enterprise programs are being followed. American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) chapter leaders in New York have requested that the Federal Government release the funds as funding uncertainty can lead to increased costs and delayed schedules. The project will assist millions of people who travel across the Northeast Corridor. Read more here.

USDOT Targets "Subpar" CDL Driver Schools

This week the USDOT announced that over 550 CDL training schools are currently failing to meet Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration standards. Violations included the use of unqualified teachers, improper training vehicles, incomplete assessments, the usage of fake addresses, inadequate hazmat training, and other violations. This comes after the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) requested improvements on driver training standards and crackdowns on CDL training mills. OOIDA hopes this will improve safety for drivers and highways for the public and raise the bar for driver skills. Read more here.

Salmon Recovery Plans in Washington State

$3 million in grants was announced by the Washington State Department of Commerce to assist with salmon recovery efforts. The grants were awarded to 12 local and tribal partners to support local comprehensive planning and development regulations of these local governments. Projects that will be supported include urban forestry programs, water quality improvement, stormwater capital, and regional and policy enhancements. Salmon provides an important commercial, ecological, cultural, and historical utility to the Pacific Northwest and preservation of these populations and environments will ensure that locals and the country keep access to this utility. These capital projects will have other benefits besides salmon support, such as stormwater treatment, job creation, public health, and other important improvements. Read more here.

Florida's Extreme Drought

The dryness in Florida is not just extreme in the general sense of the word; over 2/3 of the state’s land area is covered by NOAA’s “D3 – Extreme Drought” category, with 99% of Florida covered by one of 5 drought categories: from D0 to D4.  This drought is bringing increased wildfire risk, challenges for farmers, challenges for utilities and water suppliers, and more. We are currently in a La Niña climate phase, which typically means drier winter/spring conditions in Florida – so this is likely contributing to the persistent dryness.  On Wednesday of this week, Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner issued an emergency order to suspend some regulatory requirements while farmers are dealing with the drought and freeze impacts.  See more here and here.

Economic Impacts of the Winter Olympics on Northern Italy

With the Winter Olympics coming to Northern Italy logistical issues have been highlighted by the fact two different locations are being used. Mountainous areas have lacked electrical distribution, healthcare systems, waste reduction, and other infrastructure needs. Transportation between the two locations has also been a growing need in the area, and the Olympics has put focus on this. However, the Olympics has encouraged a significant investment of $6.26 billion for civil infrastructure and with the Olympics’ desire for greater positive impact on the places they visit there is hope that there will be lasting economic gains compared to previous Games. Read more here.

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Data Visualization of the Week

Spain's High-Speed Rail System as a Model for Europe to Reduce Carbon Emissions

Despite high carbon emissions associated with domestic flights, Europe has continued to subsidize air travel instead of rail travel. The European Commission has announced a recent comprehensive plan to work toward rail investment and construction and an end goal of achieving a continent-wide high-speed rail system by 2040. Spain’s high-speed rail system can serve as a case study and model for Europe to use as investments rise in the sector. When Spain opened a high-speed rail system between Barcelona and Madrid they saw immediate declines in air travel usage with a 60% reduction after several years. CO2 emissions declined as well with the opening of the rail system and after a post-covid recovery in emissions declines seem to be tapering off at the moment. Read more here.