California's Wine Exports Reach Record-Breaking Levels

Of the various foods that California produces for export, many have faced hard times over the past couple of years, mainly due to the scarcity of water throughout the state. Almonds, California's largest export, grow on trees that require gallons of water to grow properly. Those almond trees have suffered over the past couple of years, and, even though rainfall has increased, the trees may not recover, at least not any time soon. Fortunately, even though the almond market has hit rough times, other exports from California have reached record levels. In his L.A. Times article, Geoffrey Moan discusses increased exports of American wines in 2016, led by California's brands.

Even with the increased strength of the dollar, a limited water supply, and high tariffs, which all had limiting effects on the wine exports, foreign trade revenue still increased from $1.49 to $1.62 billion in 2016. Of all of the wine exported from the United States, around 90% came from California. Not only did the volume of wine increase, so too did the prices of those wines. Golden State labels have gained higher prestige in foreign markets, and vintners take advantage of that "premiumization" to mark up the wines. It seems to be a good business strategy that hasn't negatively impacted demand while still increasing revenue.

The single country that imported the largest amount of U.S. wine was Canada, accounting for $431 million in table wines. Behind them came Germany and Britain who, along with the rest of the countries in the European Union, imported a total of $685 million in American wines. Behind them came Mexico, Switzerland, and several Asian countries, who collectively accounted for the remaining portions of U.S. wine export revenue. Wine exporters have faced some difficulties with laws in British Columbia and other areas that prevent retailers from carrying foreign wine brands, but exports have still increased despite such restrictions.

Exporters throughout the U.S. expect that the demand will continue increasing, so limits on foreign retailers could pose future issues. While some exporters are working with foreign governments to try to gain equal access to their markets, other exporters make "trade tours" through the countries that import the most product, to renew their relationships and remind importers of their company's commitment to the wine market. While American wines have plenty of domestic demand, which is why the wine industry depends much less on exports than other industries, vintners are focusing on foreign markets mainly because they represent the best opportunity for fast growth. Their work right now will help to define their growth in the industry in years to come.

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Uber and Lyft's Low Prices Won't Last Forever

Besides its convenience factor, a user's ability to rate their drivers, and the inherent safety that comes with the app tracking your motion along a pre-determined route, Uber has attracted so many customers in large part due to its subsidized pricing. Over the years, Uber has aggressively pushed to become the leader in the ride-sharing market. To do so, they have often offered prices that are discounted to such an extent that the company sinks billions of dollars into the app each year. While it may seem counter-intuitive to lose money, Uber is actually proceeding exactly as planned: they are focusing first on acquiring customers and forcing out any competitors before they try to turn a profit. Tracy Lien, in her L.A. Times article, addresses Uber's plan and describes how such a monopoly might affect the market.

Uber and Lyft, the most popular ride-sharing services, both know that the fastest way to get loyal customers id to give them a cheaper alternative to taxis. While many consumers still prefer taking a taxi over using one of the ride-sharing apps, most people care more about saving some money. Fortunately for consumers, the ride-sharing apps are not only competing against taxis, they are also competing against each other, which has allowed prices to fall even lower. Eventually, though, as economists have reiterated time and again, when one of the companies gains control of the market, their prices will go up. Maybe it will be slow at first, but it is a law of economics that if one company is the only source of a good or service, consumers are either forced to pay whatever price the company sets or live without it.

Uber is currently valued at over $62 billion, and is by far the market leader, even though they continuously lose money or barely break even in their attempt to grow their market share. While Lyft is in second place, they also have plenty of money to burn, especially after a recent $500 million investment by General Motors. In fact, while Lyft is falling behind Uber in most areas, they have nearly half of the market share in their hometown of San Francisco. It's possible that Uber won't be able to force Lyft out of the competition in the long-run, or they may find that the attempt would be too costly to be economical. However, economists still worry about what might happen if Lyft and other competitors were forced to back out.

Uber just lost a battle in China to become the main provider of ride-sharing services. That loss could lead Uber to focus on the US and Europe more closely and work harder on taking as much market share as possible. Therefore, it is believed that their prices will go even lower in the near future. If they can keep their prices low enough for a long enough time, they may be able to gain enough customers to be unstoppable. Some economists believe that Uber should look toward becoming more valuable to the consumer rather than a cheaper option. The Premier options in ride-sharing apps attract upper-class customers, which could be a substantial source of boosted income for Uber, even if they don't succeed in encapsulating the entire market.

While it is likely that all of the ride-sharers will eventually start raising prices in the future, there are several reasons why they wouldn't suddenly shoot up to exorbitant rates. First, there are anti-trust laws and similar regulations on how much a company can charge for a product or service, especially if that company is one of only a few providers. Additionally, if Uber or Lyft suddenly started charging extremely high prices, their customers would just switch to taking taxis. So, whatever happens with their market share, economic theory would tell us that the ride-sharing apps would steer away from charging more than taxis unless they somehow found a way to remove that competitor entirely, which is unlikely.

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