The U.S. economy grew at a moderate pace in June as manufacturing improved slowly, while trucking and logistics activity was mixed, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.
Several of the Fed’s 12 districts cited increases in production levels, though others reported a deceleration in new orders, the Fed said in its latest “beige book” report, released eight times a year.
The Kansas City district report cited an uptick in trucking activity, while San Francisco cited moderating growth in trucking.
The Cleveland and Atlanta districts noted softening transportation volumes and issued lower forecasts for the remainder of the year, the report said.
As have previous recent beige books, the report cited trucking industry contacts who said firms were having a difficult time finding qualified drivers.
The report echoed Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments to Congress this week and will form the basis of discussions at the Fed’s upcoming July 31-Aug. 1 meeting, the Associated Press reported.
Wednesday’s report, which covered the period of May 26 through July 8, was prepared by the Atlanta Fed.
