This Editorial appears in the Sept. 6 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today. Anyone who relies too much on the stock market for advice on where the economy is headed these days is bound to get seasick.
For no apparent reason, someone hollers “sell” and everyone rushes to that side of the boat. Then someone yells “buy” and they all rush to the other side. You wonder how the boat stays afloat and right-side up.
Fortunately, the economy is steadier. Although it looks like things aren’t getting better as fast as most people would like, the overall direction is still positive.
But there are clouds on the horizon and our leaders in Washington need to be careful. We cannot afford another drop into a recession.
In its most recent report on gross domestic product, the Commerce Department slashed its estimate of how fast the national economy grew in the second quarter to 1.6%, a sharp slowing from 3.7% in the first quarter.
Unemployment remains stubbornly high, so consumers are keeping a pretty tight grip on their wallets. New-house sales were down 32% in July despite record-low mortgage interest rates. Automobile sales, which got a big shot in the arm from the Cash for Clunkers program last year, are languishing.
Trucking truly is at the mercy of the economy. Carriers can re-examine their operations, cut expenses to the bone, find more and more ways to squeeze a few more miles out of their fuel and a little more productivity from their employees, but at the end of the day, if the business isn’t there, there’s only so much anyone can do.
The economy’s initial bounce-back from the recession has produced some pretty good tonnage increases for trucking, but we need to be sure that the economy keeps growing.
Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, said recently that the economy will continue growing slowly this year and that the pace of growth will increase in 2011.
While some have raised fears of a “double-dip” recession, Bernanke said the Fed would be “vigilant and proactive” and would work to keep interest rates low if needed to ensure growth continues.
That’s the sort of support we need to keep the economy, and our industry, on a steady track.
