Despite persistent headwinds, including scarce qualified labor, escalating wage and fuel costs, manufacturing output dampened by supply constraints, a shift in consumer spending to services, and weaker consumer confidence, the overall industry setup continues to lean favorably for 2022. Primary tailwinds include robust household and business formation trends, accelerating progress toward normalization in the education, commercial, and hospitality sectors, CPI-linked pricing leverage, high recycling commodity prices, sustainable pandemic era operating disciplines, and a positive setup for M&A. Further, despite an Omicron “cold snap” during the 1st quarter, BMO economists remain optimistic that the supply chain and virus headwinds will gradually dissipate while still forecasting above long-term trend GDP growth of 3.5% for 2022.
Industry Update: Refuse and Recycling Winter 2022
