Raphael Stevens

NATCA President Nick Daniels said on “Squawk Box” Wednesday that it could take the industry “weeks to recover” from the impacts of the shutdown.
Daniels said the real damage from the shutdown may not become apparent until long after the shutdown ends.
Earlier this week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he could close the airspace if the shutdown drags on.

The head of the air traffic controllers’ union said Wednesday that it could take the industry “weeks to recover” from the impacts of the government shutdown.
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that the holiday season will be especially affected by the shortage of air traffic controllers, who missed their first full paycheck last week. The Department of Transportation has reported increased delays and ground stops as a result of the shutdown, now in its fifth consecutive week.

“To somehow fathom we could go into the holiday season still in a government shutdown, I can’t even begin to predict what the impacts will be across this country,” Daniels said. “Three-hour TSA wait lines will be the least of our worries.”

The FAA Air Traffic Control tower at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in Newark, New Jersey, US, on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Air traffic controllers and airport security screeners are among the employees required to work during the shutdown as essential employees, even though they’re not receiving regular paychecks. The shutdown, which entered its 36th full day on Wednesday, is now the longest in history.
Even if the shutdown ended today, Daniels added, the impacts could take much longer to be seen among air traffic controllers and could pose challenges for the industry at large.
“We’ve been in this shutdown for so long at this point, I don’t think we’ll actually see the damage until well after the shutdown ends, seeing air traffic controllers resign from this career and profession,” he said. “Even if they open the government today, we won’t see the pay that we deserve, that we’ve rightfully earned for over two to two and a half months.”

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Daniels said there are already 300 to 400 fewer air traffic controllers today than in 2019, when the government was shut down for 35 days. That shutdown ended after air traffic controller shortages led to severe disruptions at U.S. airports.

“We’ll do everything we can and be the professionals that show up and try to move the aircraft across the airspace — at the same time, we can’t make the impossible possible if it’s just going to be putting us in an impossible situation,” Daniels said.
Earlier this week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on “Squawk Box” that he may “shut the whole airspace down” if the shutdown continues to stretch on. The industry is currently 2,000 to 3,000 controllers short of its ideal staffing goal, he added.
“We won’t let people travel, [but] we’re not there at this point. It’s just significant delays,” Duffy said. More

Industrial outdoor storage (IOS) is suddenly seeing significant demand and rent growth amid lean supply. 
These sites are often located near highways, ports and other key infrastructure, but are now becoming essential staging grounds for data center construction.
Leo Addimando, CEO of Alterra IOS, said there’s $300 billion worth of IOS space that’s owned by businesses, ripe for investment.

Industrial outdoor storage in Elgin, Illinois.
Courtesy of Alterra IOS

A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
The rapid buildout of AI and quantum infrastructure is sparking a boom in an often overlooked commercial real estate sector. Industrial outdoor storage (IOS) is suddenly seeing significant demand and rent growth amid lean supply. 

IOS comprises all types of either paved or gravel land where companies can park construction equipment, vehicles, containers, supplies, really anything that can be stored outside. It acts as essential, back-office support for the movement of goods around the country – everything that isn’t a warehouse or a factory. It can have a structure on it, but the designation requires that structure be less than 25% of the overall space.
These sites are often located near highways, ports and other key infrastructure, but are now becoming essential staging grounds for data center construction. Developers are parking millions of dollars’ worth of generators, tractors and other critical equipment, according to Alterra IOS, a prominent player in the space that has acquired over 400 sites nationwide.
“It’s the real estate hiding in plain sight,” said Leo Addimando, CEO of Alterra IOS. “There is over a trillion dollars of IOS real estate in the U.S., but most of that is municipally, government-owned. It’s the shipyard, it’s the airport. There’s about $300 billion of it, which is owned by mostly small local owners that own businesses, not institutional, and that’s the addressable market.”
The sector was once considered a mom-and-pop-dominated corner of the CRE market, but it is now attracting big investment from big names. In August, Zenith IOS formed a  $700 million joint venture with institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, for IOS properties nationwide. The gross asset value will be over $1.5 billion, making it one of the largest IOS portfolios in the U.S., according to a Zenith release. 

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Also this year, Blackstone provided a $189 million loan commitment to Alterra IOS for 49 sites and a $231 million loan to Jadian Capital for a 43-property portfolio. 

The fundamentals are attractive and becoming even more so, outperforming the bulk warehouse sector. While warehouses may have won investors’ attention in the last five years, given the growth of e-commerce, IOS has delivered twice the rent growth and has roughly half the vacancy rate of the bulk warehouse sector, according to a report from Newmark. 
IOS rents have increased 123% since 2020. Phoenix, Memphis and Atlanta lead in rent growth. In some markets, IOS delivers rents similar to bulk warehouses when normalized per acre. 
“It’s bigger than self storage. It’s bigger than manufactured housing. It’s bigger than marinas. It’s bigger than RV parks. It’s bigger than a lot of categories of real estate that are already institutionally owned,” said Addimando.
Alterra just announced the close of a $150 million loan facility from funds managed by Blue Owl Capital. The initial funding of the facility was collateralized by 21 properties in 12 states. Subsequent fundings of the loan commitment will support acquisitions for Alterra IOS Venture III, a closed-end fund with $925 million in equity commitments, according to Alterra. The deal is Blue Owl’s first financing in the IOS space.
“Our investment in Alterra reflects Blue Owl’s focus on working with market-leading operators in high-growth, resilient sectors,” said Jesse Hom, chief investment officer for Blue Owl’s real assets platform. “We see strong, sustained demand for IOS assets and believe Alterra is well positioned to lead in this evolving space.”
IOS spans an estimated 1.4 million acres in the U.S., but well located sites remain scarce due to zoning, according to Newmark, which points to users such as FedEx, J.B. Hunt and Maersk on the transportation and logistics end. For equipment and bulk materials storage, users would include TruGreen, ABC Supply and United Rentals, which has approximately 1,400 locations across the U.S. 
The fundamentals are strong and improving, but the sector is not without risk. Data center demand is huge, but some are already cautioning that it’s getting overheated. Still-high interest rates, tariffs, and a weakening economy are also a concern, and then there are more basic issues, such as zoning. 
“The No. 1  biggest risk is zoning, which goes back to why it’s so land-constrained. Not only are they not making more IOS real estate, no one’s giving zoning variances for IOS real estate,” said Addimando, explaining that if anything, municipalities are trying to reduce IOS acreage because it doesn’t really generate jobs or higher taxes. More

McDonald’s earnings missed estimates, but the company’s same-store sales rose 3.6%.
The burger chain’s U.S. same-store sales increased 2.4%, boosted by growth in average check.
CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a statement that the results are “a testament to our ability to deliver sustainable growth even in a challenging environment.”

McDonald’s on Wednesday fell short of Wall Street’s earnings expectations, but the company’s U.S. restaurants reported better-than-expected same-store sales growth.
CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a statement that the results are “a testament to our ability to deliver sustainable growth even in a challenging environment.” For more than a year, McDonald’s, long considered a bellwether for the financial health of consumers, has been sounding the alarm about a pullback in restaurant spending, particularly from low-income diners.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Earnings per share: $3.22 adjusted vs. $3.33 expected
Revenue: $7.08 billion vs. $7.1 billion expected

The fast-food giant reported third-quarter net income of $2.28 billion, or $3.18 per share, up from $2.26 billion, or $3.13 per share, a year earlier. McDonald’s saw a higher effective tax rate during the quarter, which weighed on its earnings.
Excluding restructuring charges and other items, the burger chain earned $3.22 per share.
Revenue rose 3% to $7.08 billion.

A McDonald’s restaurant is viewed on July 22, 2024 in Burbank, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images

The company’s same-store sales increased 3.6%, a reversal from the year-ago period’s decline of 1.5% and roughly in line with Wall Street’s expectations, according to StreetAccount.

In the United States, McDonald’s same-store sales increased 2.4%, topping StreetAccount estimates of 1.9%. The company credited growth in average check, suggesting that diners are paying more for their meals despite the ongoing “value wars” between fast-food chains.
In an appeal to budget-conscious consumers, McDonald’s brought back its Snack Wraps for the first time in nine years and priced them at $3.99. And in September, the chain reintroduced Extra Value Meals, which it last promoted before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Outside of the U.S., McDonald’s saw even stronger same-store sales growth. Its international operated markets division, which includes Australia and Canada, reported a 4.3% increase in same-store sales. And its international developmental licensed markets segment saw its same-store sales grow 4.7%, lifted by demand in Japan. More

Investments in alternatives are expected to top $32 trillion by 2030, according to a report from Preqin.
A recovery in IPOs and mergers, falling interest rates and the AI boom will all drive a new growth cycle in private markets.
To power the next growth wave, the private equity industry is betting on wealthy investors.

Shironosov | Istock | Getty Images

A version of this article appeared in CNBC’s Inside Alts newsletter, a guide to the fast-growing world of alternative investments, from private equity and private credit to hedge funds and venture capital. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
Investments in alternatives are expected to top $32 trillion by 2030, boosted in large part by growth from wealthy investors, according to a report from Preqin.

Total assets under management in alternatives – including private equity, hedge funds, real estate, venture capital, infrastructure, natural resources and private credit – are forecast to increase by 60% over the next five years, according to the private markets research firm.
A recovery in IPOs and mergers, falling interest rates and the AI boom will all drive a new growth cycle in private markets, according to the report. Assets in private credit are expected double to $4.5 trillion by 2030.
Yet even as deal activity and exits start to increase, fundraising from institutional investors continues to fall due to a lack of distributions and poor performance in many funds. Total fundraising for private equity plunged from a peak of $676 billion in 2023 to under $500 billion this year, the report said.

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To power the next growth wave, the private equity industry is betting on wealthy investors. The report said ultra-high-net-worth individuals (typically defined as investors with $30 million or more), family offices and private-wealth managers will account for at least 30% to 40% of flagship fund capital “in future cycles.”
“With institutional rebalancing, private wealth can act as an alternative source of capital,” the report said. “Many larger managers are anticipating a doubling of private wealth capital raised in the short term. ”

The big question is whether family offices and the ultra-wealthy are also following institutional investors out the door.
Family office allocations to private equity fell from 26% of their portfolios in 2023 to 23% in 2025, according to a Goldman Sachs survey of family offices. At the same time, family offices increased their allocation to public stocks.
Family offices are also focusing more on direct investments, bypassing funds and buying stakes in companies directly, according to surveys.
 With deal activity returning, some surveys suggest family offices and ultra-wealthy investors are planning to start investing more. A survey from BNY Wealth showed that 55% of family offices surveyed plan to increase their allocation to private equity funds in the next 12 months – the highest of any asset class. More

A UPS plane crashed on Tuesday around 5:15 p.m. local time after departing from Louisville, Kentucky, the FAA said.
There were at least three fatalities and at least 11 injuries, some of them significant, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday evening.

Fire and smoke mark where a UPS cargo plane crashed near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on Nov. 4, 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky.
Stephen Cohen | Getty Images

A UPS plane crashed shortly after taking off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky at around 5:15 p.m. local time Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
At least three people were killed and at least 11 were injured, some of them significantly, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in a press conference. He said those numbers are preliminary and that he thinks they will grow.

UPS said in a statement that there were three crewmembers on the plane. It was unclear if the fatalities were from the plane or on the ground, and Beshear said the status of the crew was unknown. He added that there was an emergency response area set up for families.
The reason for the crash was not immediately known. The plane was a MD-11F, a type of freight transport aircraft made by aircraft manufacturer McDonnell Douglas, which merged with Boeing in 1997. The plane had hundreds of thousands of pounds of fuel on board to travel all the way to Honolulu, Louisville Fire Chief Brian O’Neill said in the press conference.
The Louisville Metro Police Department said on X that it was implementing a shelter-in-place order near the crash site. Several businesses near the area were affected, officials said.
There was no hazardous material on the plane that would create an environmental issue, but the place where it crashed “could create those types of situations,” Beshear said. He said a petroleum recycling business and an an auto parts business are in the area and called it an “all-hands on deck response.”

A plume of smoke wafts over airport property after reports of a plane crash at Louisville International Airport, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Louisville, Ky.
Jon Cherry | AP

A large plume of black smoke was visible near the airport, and footage from local TV showed fire and debris in a large radius around the crash site.

The FAA said the plane was en route to Honolulu and that it and the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate the incident.
The airport was closed following the incident, and “all arriving and departing flights at SDF are temporarily suspended,” the airport said in a statement on X Tuesday evening.
The airport is home to the UPS Worldport, which the company says is its largest package handling facility in the world. Hundreds of UPS flights take off daily from Louisville, according to the company.
“This is a UPS town,” said Louisville city council member Betsy Ruhe.
— CNBC’s Dennis Green contributed to this report. More