YSI Posts 4Q

U-Store-It Trust's YSI fourth-quarter performance metrics were roughly in line with our thinking, and we plan no immediate change to our opinion of this self-storage owner. Unemployment remains a near-term headwind, as lower job turnover rates lead to lower demand for U-Store-It's facilities. Indeed, occupancy tanked to 75.5%, down 430 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2008. Additionally, year-over-year quarterly declines were worse than the third quarter, as total and same-store revenue respectively fell 5.8% and 5.9%. We don't believe employment rates will cure quickly across U-Store-It's footprint, so 2010 will likely prove challenging as well.