If the economic road is bumpy, why all the trucks?

Ian McGugan The Globe and Mail

08.22.2010

The Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index, which measures the strength of the U.S. economy by looking at trucking activity, flashed positive last month, registering an increase that is in line with robust growth.

That positive indicator doesn’t mean that a boom is ahead, but it does suggest that dire predictions of disaster should be put to one side.
 

Minnesota adds 9,800 jobs as July jobless rate holds steady

Brad Allen MinnPost

08.19.2010

In other recent economic news, Minneapolis-based Ceridian Corp.’s Pulse of Commerce Index, based on diesel fuel purchases by trucking companies, climbed 1.7 percent after dropping 1.9 percent in June.

Ceridian, which is positioning the PCI index as a leading economic indicator, pointed to the June PCI, which forecast second-quarter GDP growth of 2.5 percent, closely matching the federal government’s initial Q2 estimate of 2.4 percent growth. The latest PCI results suggest GDP growth of 4 percent in Q3, but only if the momentum continues.

Pulse of Commerce Index is up 1.7 percent in July

Jeff Berman Logistics Management

08.12.2010

As LM reported last month, June’s PCI decline was due, in part, to a late Memorial Day holiday leading to a sluggish first half of the month, followed by a strong second half of June. Todd Dooley, senior vice president of finance for Ceridian, told LM that Memorial Day was on the latest date in May it has for the last ten years, coupled with trucking activity around Memorial Day slowing down for about a week to ten days, which negatively impacted June’s results.

July’s PCI, on the other hand, was up 8 percent year-over-year and represents the eighth straight month of mid-to-high single digit growth after two years of declines, according to Ceridian and UCLA. But the report said annual growth of 10-to-15 percent is needed to truly drive an increase in employment.

State unemployment rate drops below 7 percent

Brad Allen MinnPost.com

07.15.2010

Minneapolis-based Ceridian Corp. released its Pulse of Commerce Index, based on diesel fuel purchases by trucking companies, which showed a 1.9 percent decline, erasing most of May’s 3.1 percent gain.

PCI chief economist Ed Leamer, however, said that it is not a harbinger of a double-dip recession because of the late Memorial Day holiday, which affected trucking activity in the first week of June. The month finished strong, raising hopes for a strong July, according to the Ceridian release.

Ceridian trucking index tumbles in June

Rex Nutting MarketWatch

07.13.2010

Consumption of diesel fuel by U.S. trucking companies dropped sharply during June after having risen in May, but analysts said this reflected a decline usually seen around the Memorial Day holiday.

Pulse of Commerce Index Points to Continued Growth

Scott Grannis Seeking Alpha

08.12.2010

This index (I'm showing the seasonally-adjusted, 3-mo. moving average version of the index) of real-time diesel fuel consumption by many thousands of trucks criss-crossing the country correlates strongly to industrial production and almost as strongly to GDP. July data is included in this chart, and it suggests we might see a somewhat stronger-than-expected industrial production report next week. In any event, the index has been climbing steadily for more than a year, and is showing no sign of any slowdown in the pace of economic growth.

Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index Climbs in July

Staff Writer Truckinginfo

08.12.2010

The Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index, which is based on diesel fuel sales, continued to show an economy in recovery, according to the UCLA Anderson School of Management. The July PCI climbed 1.7 percent after dropping 1.9 percent in June.

Though the PCI fell significantly in June, a careful examination of the daily data revelead that June was not as bad as the headline number suggested, according to the index publishers, because of a late Memorial Day and the second half of June being stronger than the first. This more positive interpretation of the June data has now been confirmed with a a strong July PCI.

Ceridian-UCLA: Diesel Fuel index increases in July

Bill McBride Calculated Risk

08.11.2010

All signs continue to point to an economy in recovery with the latest release of the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index™ (PCI) by UCLA Anderson School of Management. The July PCI climbed 1.7 percent after dropping 1.9 percent in June.

CERIDIAN INDEX: NO DOUBLE DIP

Cullen Roche Pragmatic Capitalism

08.11.2010

UCLA’s Ceridian Index is pointing to further signs of recovery (via Ceridian Index): All signs continue to point to an economy in recovery with the latest release of the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index™ (PCI) by UCLA Anderson School of Management. The July PCI climbed 1.7 percent after dropping 1.9 percent in June.

Ceridian-UCLA: Diesel Fuel index Falls Sharply in June

Bill McBride Calculated Risk

07.13.2010

This is the new UCLA Anderson Forecast and Ceridian Corporation index using real-time diesel fuel consumption data: Pulse of Commerce Index(TM). The decline in June is just one month (partially offsetting the large increase in May), and the three month average is still increasing.