Editorial: The Economy Beats On

It appears that the death of the nation’s economic recovery has been greatly exaggerated, at least up until now.

Not that certain factions in Congress aren’t capable of letting the air out of the recovery balloon. But thus far, the economy is showing surprising resilience, despite efforts by some politicians that many economists say are counterproductive if the goal is to get the economy into a full-recovery mode.

As reported elsewhere in this issue of Transport Topics, U.S. tonnage levels in July jumped 4.7% above year-ago levels, to the third-highest level ever on the closely watched index produced by American Trucking Associations. And the only two higher levels were recorded in May and June of this year.

Granted, much of the gain seems to be coming from heavier freight and not from more loads of product. But increased tonnage still is a very good thing to hear for the trucking industry.

For the year to date, truck tonnage is up by the same 4.7%, a very respectable performance.

According to various analysts, freight-related gains in housing construction and domestic energy production are driving the increase, while manufacturing appears to be flat or slightly down.

Economists have been worried that the so-called sequestration in Washington — the sharp cutback in government spending resulting from the inability of Congress and the White House to agree on a budget plan — would sharply reduce economic activity and possibly spark another recession.

But so far, the economy is defying those predictions, although no one knows just how long it can keep growing as government spending plummets.

Another freight measurement, DAT’s Freight Index, rose from June to July for the first time since the index was created in 1996. While this index usually falls from June to July and from July to August, it rose 0.5% this year.

It’s anybody’s guess as to what the future holds for the economy, but it’s clear that the battles in Washington aren’t helping.

ATA’s index, for instance, showed that total tonnage was actually down by 0.1% in July from June, the first month-to-month drop since April and a sign not to be ignored.

It would be constructive for the politicians in Washington to remember that the fight over the economy is more than a battle over political priorities. The economy, to paraphrase Pogo, is we. And we have the right to expect our political leaders to behave in a responsible, professional manner.