According to Forbes, if the country is in a economic recovery mode, the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index sure doesn’t show it. The index, based on diesel fuel purchases by thousands of truckers around the country, fell roughly 1% in September, equivalent to a 10% annual contraction. Coming after a 1.4% decline in August and 0.2% decline in July, the index suggests trucks are carrying fewer goods to market even as retailers should be increasing their inventories in anticipation of the holidays.
“Someone who doesn’t regard the double-dip recession hypothesis as very possible – that belief is being challenged,” said Edward Leamer, a UCLA economist who helps compile the index and counts himself among the double-dip skeptics. “People postponing purchases is what a recession is all about.”
Find out more at http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2011/10/18/recovering-economy-not-if-youre-counting-truckloads/
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