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Released: January 21, 2010
Index Suggests Economy In “Early Recovery” State
The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for the United States increased 1.1 percent in December. This is a sharp rise at a quicker pace than any time in the previous nine months. After steady gains during nine consecutive months, this upturn in December leaves the closely watched economic indicator at 106.4, following a 1 percent gain in November, and a 0.3 percent rise in October. “The six-month growth rate has picked up slightly to 5.2 percent (about a 10.8 percent annual rate) in the period through December, substantially higher than earlier in the year. In addition, the strengths among the leading indicators have remained very widespread in recent months,” according to Ataman Ozyildirim, Economist with The Conference Board. The coincident index rose 0.1 percent in December, following a 0.1 percent increase in both November and October. The lagging index declined 0.2 percent in December, following a 0.5 percent decline in November, and a 0.2 percent decline in October.
Wall Street Perspectives: Truckload Surge
When it comes to freight volume, truckload carriers are doing better than many industry analysts expected in early 2010. This is attributed to a strong finish to 2009 and the fact that several carriers are outpacing Wall Street's expectations.
"Given strong holiday demand trends and atypical strength in our truckload freight index, we've raised our expectations for truckload utilization and expect miles per truck to increase year-over-year for most carriers," said Adam Longson, Vice President of Morgan Stanley Research in a note to investors. However, despite the increase in freight shipping, truckload rates were slow to climb in the quarter, and excess capacity put a brake on price hikes. "Year-over-year pricing declines should improve from the third quarter on easy comparisons, but positive year-over-year pricing trends may not materialize until mid-2010," he said. NASSTRAC will have a Wall Street executive discussion at its annual in April, featuring John Larkin, Equity Analyst with of Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. and John Langenfeld, Associate director of Research with Robert W. Baird & Co.
Trucking Tells FMCSA That HOS Rule Is Working
Trucking industry executives told the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that current federal hours of services rules for truck drivers are working. Dave Osiecki, ATA’s Senior Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs, spoke at Tuesday’s “listening session” in Arlington, Va., the first of four such sessions FMCSA is holding around the country on the HOS rules. “In the very real world of trucking, highway safety has improved in the past six years under these rules,” said Osiecki. FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro opened the session by saying the agency wanted to “reach out and gather as much information and as many comments as possible — the good, bad and the ugly.”
Last October, the Obama administration committed the DOT to propose new HOS rules, heading off a Teamsters union legal challenge to Bush-era rules. Federal regulators have now started hearings on potential plans to rewrite controversial rules for truck drivers, while FMCSA is hosting these “listening sessions” to address topics such as driver rest and on-duty time, sleeper berth use and the impact of current rules on loading and unloading times. Formally opening this dialogue again concerns NASSTRAC shippers who rely on trucking, as well as their carrier partners.
> To view NASSTRAC’s position on Hours of Service, click here.
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