Weekly Editorial
Are The Overall Economic Trends Positive Or Negative?
Written By Rob Kirkbride, Write Office • October 3, 2022

KFI Studios - Midtown
Midtown tables are among the most popular in the KFI Studios offering because they pair so nicely with most any seating you choose. The black powder coat industrial-look base is constructed of 16 gauge steel – strength and beauty in one.
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The look of handstitched leather combined with sophisticated, simple lines makes Zoso an ideal addition to offices, waiting areas, conference rooms and really, just about anywhere. Aesthetically a winner, its true beauty lies in its comfort.
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An armchair that inspires reflection and conversation. It is ideal for use in the living room, as a comfortable place for guests to wait in an entryway or as part of an extra lounge area.
KFI Studios - Shade Lighting
To get the perfect light, you need the perfect shade. Shade is meant to do just that! This design piece combines aesthetics with functionality. Shade will help you adjust the direction and amount of light, while shielding any unwanted glare.
KFI Studios - Shade Lighting
To get the perfect light, you need the perfect shade. Shade is meant to do just that! This design piece combines aesthetics with functionality. Shade will help you adjust the direction and amount of light, while shielding any unwanted glare.
FireKing - Turtle File Cabinet
The Turtle file cabinet by FireKing is the perfect records protection for your home, personal office, or small business. With a UL 1-Hour Class 350 Fire Rating, the shell-hard Turtle line of products underwent grueling testing procedures to ensure that each and every model passes intense fire tests conducted by Underwriters Laboratories.
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Please take a moment to look up just for a few seconds and check out the numbers that run in each week’s newsletter. These numbers track the cost of oil per barrel, gas per gallon in the U.S., shipping container prices and the cost of steel. The Insider team picked these particular benchmarks because they are closely associated with trends in the overall business climate.
They certainly have been interesting numbers to follow. Are the overall trends positive or negative so far? It’s too soon to tell. It would be easy to mistake falling numbers with economic positives. After all, no one wants to pay more for steel, shipping or gas. In the case of steel and shipping container costs, a dip is welcome for most companies.

Almost all the economic numbers we are tracking are falling. That means you are paying less for everything from a gallon of gas to a shipping container these days. Don’t get your hopes up from these plummeting costs, because these indicators are falling for a much more ominous reason: The economy is softening. The Dow is down over 7% in September and 20% year-to-date.
The numbers provide you with a quick glimpse of the general economy from week to week and we hope you find them useful. As we gain a rhythm publishing The Insider and learn more about what you’d like to see as a reader, we are considering changing these numbers up a bit.
One thought is to keep what we have and add more benchmarks to give you an even wider view of the overall economy. Another is to provide a rotating group of benchmarks – perhaps four different benchmarks each week that will rotate throughout the month.
The Insider team has a few ideas about what we might like to add that we think would be helpful to you, but we want to open it up as well. After all, as a reader of The Insider, you are part of the fastest growing publication in the office furniture industry. You are smart, connected pros. So we thought we would ask for your input.
Are there any benchmarks that you would like to see in the space each week or on a rotating basis? Perhaps your company uses a lot of plastic, and you would like to see plastic resin prices. Maybe you would rather see prices for lumber? Would aluminum prices help? We are all ears. It is completely up to you.
The Insider is designed to be a quick-hitting read. We know there’s no need to bore you with a bloated, 75-page+ weekly office furniture publication. No one should be expected to try to sort through all that information, especially since most of it is regurgitated press releases anyway. The Insider is the opposite – lean, quick, fun, and focused.
So let us know what you would like to see in The Insider. Reach out to me at rob@theinsiderpress.com with your suggestions.
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