TAG Industrial Watch: October 25, 2025

The federal government may still be in shutdown mode, but that hasn’t stopped Washington, D.C., from continuously racking up debt (or still taking out withholding taxes for that matter). In the span of just 50 days, the national debt soared from $37 trillion to now $38 trillion, representing the fastest accumulation of $1 trillion worth of debt in world history (outside of the pandemic year). Unfortunately, this news has largely fallen on deaf ears between Wall Street and D.C. However, we can be certain that our foreign creditors, who hold nearly $9.2 trillion worth of U.S. Treasuries, are certainly taking note, and so should industrial investors (U.S. Treasury). If America’s unprecedented accumulation of debt isn’t alarming enough, investors should keep in mind that there is another $105.0 trillion in unfunded liabilities – essentially future debt based on current expenditures (U.S.DebtClock.org). The more America’s foreign creditors replace the dollar in international trade and finance, the more pressure builds in the bond market. While Halloween is around the corner, this shouldn’t be taken as a scare tactic but a warning of what is to come. Understanding that interest rates are fundamentally poised to rise regardless of what the Federal Reserve does in the short term, industrial investors can take advantage of the current buyer pool that is largely a reflection of the relatively calm lending environment.