Where Growth Is Happening: Spring Opportunities in Property & Inland Marine
As spring approaches, agents writing property and inland marine coverages should take note of a national economy that is growing — but unevenly. Throughout the year, the Federal Reserve system monitors economic conditions across its 12 districts and publishes the Beige Book1. According to the March 2026 Beige Book, overall activity increased at a slight to moderate pace in more than half of its districts, while five reported flat or declining conditions.
For agents focused on builder's risk and construction equipment, the most compelling opportunities lie in non-residential construction. Residential markets are weakened across most Districts due to affordability challenges, low inventory, and weather disruptions. The clearest bright spot is manufacturing, where most regions reported growth fueled largely by data center buildouts and related energy infrastructure. Cleveland builders reported that continued demand for infrastructure and data centers offset delays in manufacturing projects. Atlanta and Chicago noted hiring strength at data center construction firms and Dallas highlighted midstream energy infrastructure as a relative bright spot. Philadelphia identified data centers and healthcare facilities as the dominant construction projects underway. Richmond reported a commercial real estate resurgence. As we enter spring, reach out to your insureds to vet coverage. Rapidly rising construction costs — driven by tariffs on metals and persistent labor pressures — make proper valuation and adequate policy limits critical on builder's risk placements.
While most regions flagged a slowdown in transportation, the infrastructure surge creates targeted openings for motor truck cargo. Agents who identify carriers moving equipment tied to these infrastructure-heavy projects, and who understand the risk profile of high-value loads in transit, are well-positioned to grow their inland marine book this spring. Atlanta explicitly noted that "truckloads of data center-related infrastructure and equipment were strong" even as overall district transportation was flat to slightly down. In Cleveland, freight demand grew modestly, though carriers attributed this to reduced driver capacity rather than increased volumes, a tightness that creates both rate pressure and coverage conversations. New York shipping industry contacts indicated that “import volumes continued to grow despite pessimistic business sentiment.”
The Beige Book is intended to characterize the change in economic conditions within each region since the last report. How is growth trending across the 12 Federal Reserve Districts?
Slight to Moderate Growth (January vs March):
- Philadelphia — modest growth
- Cleveland — modest growth
1 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Beige Book
- Richmond — modest growth
- Atlanta — modest to moderate growth
- Chicago — slight growth
- Kansas City — slight growth
- Dallas — moderate growth
Flat or Declining (January vs March):
- Boston — flat
- New York — modest decline
- St. Louis — unchanged, expected to increase
- Minneapolis — slight decline
- San Francisco — slight contraction
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