Growth in" goods" sector of economy strengthening truck freight

The slow-to-recover economy can be explained as the tale of two phases, GDP growth and truck freight growth, according to analysts with FTR Associates. The GDP rose rapidly, then has slowed because there is less consumer consumption compared to earlier recessions. Senior analyst Neil Perry said tight credit, a slow-to-recover housing market (which accounts for 15 percent of the economy) and unemployment are hampering economic recovery. Growth is still occurring, particularly in the rise of durable goods spending and thanks to global economies like China and
emerging economies such as Brazil, Russia and India. FTR Associates said what will be the main holdup for trucking is conservative equipment replacement, which is expected to continue given the freshness of the downturn for many businesses.

Economy Recovering Stronger in Freight Than Other Areas

Analysts with FTR Associates took great pains to delineate the difference between GDP and truck freight growth in the current economic recovery during the transportation-forecasting firm’s latest Freight Focus webinar held yesterday. Noel Perry, senior consultant at FTR Associates and principal of Transport Fundamentals, pointed out that while certain “structural reasons” explain why the economic recovery overall will be slow, the “strength of the goods side of the economy has [already] made this a strong freight recovery.”
Perry said the “slow recovery on now is expected by most economists to continue.” He explained that GDP growth “accelerated rapidly” but then slowed over the last three quarters—staying below 3% growth. A key reason that growth slowed is because consumption (of goods and services) has been weak so far compared to earlier recessions.