The U.S. trucking industry is experiencing a capacity crisis, with insufficient numbers of trucks and trailers to haul an ever-increasing amount of freight. FTR’s measurement of Total Truck Utilization is currently at 97% (meaning 97% of all trucks are in use). The index is expected to hit 100% later this year. While it is an… Read More »
A sea change happens one drop at a time … Problems at the Mall I make my annual Christmas shopping trip to the mall around December 10 every year. For at least the last ten years, I have purchased calendars at a kiosk in the mall. I usually buy at least four calendars: a 365-day… Read More »
An unusual economic indicator that I track is “Outdoor Christmas Lights” (OCLs). OCLs are a coincidental economic indicator, providing information about the current state of the economy. This indicator is only relevant when the economy is getting weaker or growing stronger, and its measurement is highly subjective – more observational than measurable. Also, it is… Read More »
Note: This content first appeared in Global Trailer Magazine and was written for a foreign audience. However, it does give a broad overview of the factors that have influenced commercial vehicle sales this year. The unexpected election of Donald Trump has caused a great deal of political turmoil in the United States. However, the area… Read More »
GDP has been above 3% for two straight quarters! Business people are giddy with excitement, as business conditions and confidence are at their highest level since the Great Recession. CEOs all the way down to factory workers are hopeful the economy has broken through seven years of the slow-growth recovery and will get even better… Read More »
A panelist at the recent FTR Transportation Conference reminded us that businesses like it when the government stays out of “their business.” He said companies were benefiting from the new “hands off” environment. He claimed this had improved business confidence, and, more importantly, business performance. We have seen these conditions before, usually when power in… Read More »
Things appear to be booming: – 3% GDP growth in Q2. The word on the street turned out to be more reliable than the economists’ forecasts. – Unemployment rate of 4.4%. Economists set “full economic employment” at 4%, because it is estimated that at any time 4% of the labor force is in some form… Read More »
Earlier this year, there was a surge in business confidence in the manufacturing sector of the economy. There were forecasts and predictions of robust growth. However, at mid-year, there is limited evidence of a manufacturing revival and most economists are not factoring a big change into their Q3 and Q4 GDP forecasts. So, what is… Read More »
Pick an indicator, any indicator… Flatbed Freight I recently attended a conference for flatbed fleets owners. These small business owners are extremely bullish on flatbed freight in the second half of the year. Their rosy business outlook mirrors some of the small business confidence surveys that have been reported. This is significant, because flatbed trailers… Read More »
The Great Recession was devastating to the U.S. economy. At its worst point, 9 million people were unemployed and the average household income fell more than 8%. In addition, the U.S. government took drastic action to prevent the financial system from collapsing. The people hurt the most by this recession were the risk-takers. There were… Read More »