Cyclists often display bumper stickers or yard signs reminding motorists to “share the road.” The U.S. Department of Transportation even has a website providing information about safe road sharing.
Although these reminders are typically lighthearted, the message is serious: as road congestion increases, vehicles of all types are more likely to be involved in collisions. This unsurprising relationship between road congestion and vehicle collisions has been documented repeatedly for quite some time, and applies as aptly to large commercial trucks as to smaller vehicles.
For this reason, drivers of all vehicle classes should take note of the recent travel monitoring reports from the U.S. DOT, which show that monthly miles traveled increased year-over-year during nearly every month in 2012. During the recent recession, motorists broke a long-running trend of annual increases in vehicle miles traveled, and the trend then remained flat to decreasing for much of the past five years (Figure 1).
As the economy slowly improves – and provided gasoline prices remain fairly stable – annual vehicle miles traveled are likely to continue increasing, perhaps returning to the long-term trend. Over the next few years, the phrase “share the road” may ring truer than ever.
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More on the Ebb and Flow of Truck Drivers
Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported (.pdf) that firms added 157,000 employees to their payrolls during January. As in December, the Construction and Manufacturing sectors continued to expand. But, for-hire trucking employment also grew, increasing by 5000 employees since December.
In another article, I examined transitions from and to for-hire employment in trucking. If manufacturing and construction are close substitutes for trucking, should all three of these occupations be swelling their payrolls simultaneously – especially when the overall unemployment rate remains at 7.9 percent?
Below, I update my previous analysis to incorporate time, showing the extent of employment transitions to and from trucking during each year over the last decade. Specifically, I use the previously discussed CPS-MORG employment transitions to show the ratio of new truckers to former truckers by year, rather than combined into a single measure for each sector. I present this ratio for three of trucking’s most related sectors: construction, trade (wholesale or retail), and manufacturing.
In the figure, a value of zero for a sector indicates that there is an equal flow of workers moving from that sector to employment in trucking as there is exiting for-hire trucking to that sector. A value of 0.5 indicates that there are three new truckers coming from that sector for every two former truckers departing for that sector.
Construction activity sharply declined during the recession, so it is not surprising to see an influx of construction workers into trucking towards the end of the decade. However, now that the construction sector is rapidly expanding again (.pdf), this trend could easily reverse.
The relative shift of truckers to manufacturing during recent years is also concerning, and as manufacturing activity continues to improve, this pattern is likely to continue.
Retail and wholesale trade appear to be the most balanced of the sectors, in terms of transitions to and from trucking. At this time, there is little reason to anticipate this pattern changing substantially.
About the author
Jeremy West is the Internet Truckstop research economist for the weekly Trans4Cast. Jeremy examines the broader economic picture and reports how the current economic headlines relate to the trucking industry. He holds a bachelor of science in Economics, with minor degrees in Business and Creative Studies, from Texas A&M University, where he is currently completing a doctorate in Economics. His research focuses on empirical analysis of topics in industrial organization, particularly those affecting the transportation sector. In addition to his academic training, Jeremy held several previous positions in corporate financial planning and economic forecasting. Jeremy enjoys the opportunity to offer highlights and analysis of the trucking industry.
The Ebb and Flow of Truck Drivers
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week that 155,000 jobs were added nationally during December, with the national unemployment rate remaining unchanged at 7.8%. For trucking, a key portion of this report was that manufacturers and construction firms respectively added 25,000 and 30,000 workers to their payrolls. This underscores that a sizeable reduction in potential truck drivers may be an important factor for the trucking industry during 2013.
Anyone who has spent a long time in trucking can tell you that construction and manufacturing are some of the closest employment substitutes for possible truck drivers. Like trucking, these occupations are physically demanding, require long hours, and necessitate safe handling of heavy equipment.
As an economist, I am interested in exactly how close manufacturing and construction are as substitutes for trucking employment. To address this question, I use the “Merged Outgoing Rotation Groups” version of the Current Population Survey (CPS), which is originally collected by the U.S. Census Bureau in partnership with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
One feature of the CPS is that many individuals are surveyed about their employment twice, one year apart. This allows for researchers to link (anonymous) individuals across two sequential years to examine changes in their employment. Below, I use the CPS from 2000-2011 in this way to study transitions into and out of full-time employment as a truck driver.
Over the past decade, the U.S. averaged roughly 4.15 million truck drivers each year, representing around 2.6 percent of all full-time employees. Note that this number includes all surveyed individuals who described their employment as truck driving, not just TL and LTL truck drivers. The data do not allow for further dissection of this occupational category.
Using the sequential links in the data, the CPS shows that about 75% of respondents who were employed full-time as truckdrivers remain employed full-time as truck drivers during the following year. In Figure 2, I examine the roughly 25% of drivers who changedeither to or from driving a truck for employment from one year to the next.
Figure 2 displays the ten largest employment categories for individuals who transitioned into or out of full-time truck driving between their surveys. Interestingly, transitions to and from other types of employment appear to be very balanced, with drivers as likely to switch to any other particular occupation as they are to switch from it.
Of truck drivers who changed their full-time occupation, the largest employment category is Other Transportation or Warehousing (e.g. driving a bus). Construction and Manufacturing are respectively the second and fourth most likely alternate industries for truck drivers, representing a combined 17% of occupational transitions. So, during the past decade about 4.25% (17% of 25%) of truck drivers shifted to employment in either construction or manufacturing from year to year.And, about 4.25% of “new” truck drivers transitioned from either construction or manufacturing in each year.
For these reasons, it is well worth keeping a close eye on anygrowth in construction and manufacturing employment as we enter 2013.
About the author
Jeremy West is the Internet Truckstop research economist for the weekly Trans4Cast. Jeremy examines the broader economic picture and reports how the current economic headlines relate to the trucking industry. He holds a bachelor of science in Economics, with minor degrees in Business and Creative Studies, from Texas A&M University, where he is currently completing a doctorate in Economics. His research focuses on empirical analysis of topics in industrial organization, particularly those affecting the transportation sector. In addition to his academic training, Jeremy held several previous positions in corporate financial planning and economic forecasting. Jeremy enjoys the opportunity to offer highlights and analysis of the trucking industry to subscribers each week. Take advantage and subscribe today!
Some (Cautiously) Optimistic News for the Economy
Last week, two key economic reports showed an improving environment for trucking. In one, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that total monthly retail sales increased by a seasonally-adjusted 0.3% during November, or 3.7% year over year. In the other, the Federal Reserve documented a full percentile increase in the monthly industrial production index for November, including a 1.1 percentile improvement in the manufacturing component.
Contrasted with the weakness seen in these measures during recent months, the November reports are especially promising for trucking. The improvement in industrial production, for instance, was the largest monthly increase in this index since December 2010. Retail sales, meanwhile, are now up nearly 25% from their recessionary bottom.
The scene is not all rosy, however. As the Fed’s report noted, “The gain in November is estimated to have largely resulted from a recovery in production for industries that had been negatively affected by Hurricane Sandy, which hit the Northeast region in late October.”
Moreover, inventories continue to grow throughout the supply chain. As shown in the figure, the growth rate of inventory accumulation has outpaced that for retail sales and production since late 2010, and the volume of business inventories steadily increases. So long as the supply chain struggles to move existing stock, we will continue to see a disconnect between new production and demand for more trucking.
Whether the November improvements in manufacturing and sales will continue is an open question. Some early answers to this question will be provided this week in the December regional production reports from the Fed Banks in New York, Philadelphia, and Kansas City.
Jeremy West
ITS Economist
Upward 2012 Q3 GDP Revision Reflects Mainly Growth in Inventories
Last Thursday, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a 2.7% annual rate during the third quarter of 2012, which was an upward revision from the preliminarily reported annual growth rate of 2.0%. At a first glance, this appears to be good news, but as economist James Hamilton points out, a more thorough reading of the report shows that the U.S. economy is “growing a slower rate than any of us would like.”
In particular, 0.8 percentage points of the growth in GDP translated into increased inventory accumulation, and 0.7 came from higher levels of defense spending. Excluding these factors, Q3 GDP grew at a measly 1.2% annual rate. Hamilton reasonably anticipates that GDP will continue to grow at below-average rates during 2012Q4 and in the near future.
For the trucking industry, I find the increased accumulation of inventories to be the most concerning aspect of this report. As shown in the below figure, U.S. total trade inventories increased by $135b, or 9.1%, from March 2011 through September 2012 (the most recent month currently reported by the Census Bureau). Over the same time period, total retail sales actually declined by $17b, or 1.4%. Basically, retail sales have been largely flat for nearly two years, while inventories have steadily accumulated.
I have discussed the problems of increased inventory accumulation previously on this blog, and it remains troubling for trucking to have increasing production volumes be simply stashed in warehouses.
New orders for durable goods (products with a useable life of at least three years) remained flat during October (.pdf), as did new home sales (.pdf). Moreover, consumer confidence improved by only 0.6% during November.
Recently, the American Trucking Association reported that truck tonnage declined by 3.8% in October, the first year-over-year drop since November 2009. Clearly, the trucking sector is in need of a positive shock to demand. A possible source for such a shock is much less clear.
Jeremy West
Internet Truckstop Economist
Are Hurricanes Good for Trucking?
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy—as is often the case following a major natural disaster—economic pundits perform an intellectual dance, arguing whether or not a hurricane is ultimately good for the economy, especially during a recession. I want to take a narrower perspective, asking whether trucking volumes improve following a major hurricane.
The theory goes as follows. A hurricane such as Sandy destroys a large amount of physical property (e.g. houses, office buildings, shops, and infrastructure). Following the storm, the area slowly rebuilds, often renovating older and deteriorated construction along the way. This (re)construction activity requires a large volume of building materials, which—you guessed it—need to be trucked.
Although the story seems plausible, it’s ultimately an empirical question whether a hurricane leads to a significant uptick in trucking activity. To investigate this, I’ve plotted the timing of several major U.S. hurricanes along with the Transportation Services Index for Freight,reported monthly by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics since 1990. This index measures national freight activity and is seasonally-adjusted, which is key in this case because the “hurricane season” largely overlaps the annual peak trucking season. Thus, the test is to see whether hurricanes generate spikes in transportation volumes.
Eleven of the thirty most costly U.S. mainland tropical cyclones from 1900-2010 have occurred since 1990, per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, .pdf report, Table 3a. on p. 9). To these, I’ve added Hurricane Irene (August 2011)for the figure below.
You can of course pass your own judgment on the results, but I think the data speak for themselves. To the extent that hurricanes boost trucking activity, the increase looks pretty small.
This is not to say that trucking is unaffected. In particular, some types of trailers (especially flatbeds) should realize bigger gains in volumes than others. But, I wouldn’t count on Sandy to revitalize the trucking industry.
Jeremy West
Internet Truckstop Economist
Surprise, Surprise… the Manufacturing Sector Remains Choppy
By Jeremy West, Internet Truckstop Economist
Over the past few months, it has seemed like U.S. manufacturers are treading water. Factory output isn’t dramatically sinking, as occurs whenever the economy is entering a recession. But, on the other hand, we’re not seeing any production gains worth cheering about either.
Two basic metrics are tracked for manufacturing output: the quantity of current production and the volume of orders for future production. Last Thursday, the Census Bureau reported that new orders in August for factory production fell 5.2% month-over-month and 2.5% year-over-year. This was the first year-over-year decline in new orders since November 2009.
Much of this decline resulted from a 101.8% drop in orders for commercial aircraft. As shown in the figure, orders excluding transportation equipment increased by 0.28% YOY. Regardless, the message is clear: manufacturing production is stalling.
Separately, the Institute for Supply Management reported that the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) increased to 51.5 during September. This was positive news: any value above 50 indicates manufacturing growth, and the index has been below 50 since May. The next few months will show whether this represents a temporary spike in manufacturing activity or a reversal of the contraction seen in the manufacturing sector during 2012Q2.
So, the production picture isn’t entirely gloomy, and some regions of the country are performing better than others. During September, manufacturing output improved in Texas and in the Central Atlantic regions, worsened in New York and in much of the Midwest, and remained largely flat in the Philadelphia region.
Taken together, these reports offer a mixed outlook for total manufacturing—and, subsequently, trucking—with aggregate production activity trending to the downside. The next Federal Reserve Industrial Production and Manufacturing report is scheduled for October 16th. Don’t be surprised to find that factories continued to slowly churn.
Market Demand Index (MDI) Decreases 2%
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW PLYMOUTH, ID (September 25, 2012) - Internet Truckstop, the largest web-based freight matching service in the transportation industry reports that the Market Demand Index (MDI) decreased 2% to 11.64 from 11.83 the previous week as reported in the weekly Trans4Cast.
The overall average equipment rate decreased 2% to $2.04 from $2.09 the previous week. Flatbed rates decreased 3% to $1.90 from $1.96 the previous week. Reefer rates decreased 3% to $2.08 from $2.16 the previous week. Specialized truck rates increased 2% to $2.45 from $2.41 the previous week. Van rates decreased 5% to $1.72 from $1.82 the previous week.
“With an upcoming national election, a looming “fiscal cliff,” and continuing instability in the Eurozone, the economic climate is quite unclear. And, the outlook will remain murky until businesses and consumers can better determine the political environment in which they must operate.” Jeremy West, Internet Truckstop Economist
About Trans4Cast powered by Internet Truckstop
Trans4Cast is the compilation of highly relevant data, easily accessible to all trucking professionals. The Market Demand Index (MDI), a measure of relative truck demand, is culled from Internet Truckstop data. Internet Truckstop compiles this weekly report that will assist in making critical business decisions. The report is now a web series with a news anchor and appears as the Industry Economic Update on BigTruckTV.com, Internet Truckstop, and Truckload Carriers Association. The show is produced bi-weekly and can be accessed online 24/7. Jeremy West is the economic consultant preparing this report. He holds a bachelor of science in Economics, with minor degrees in Business and Creative Studies, from Texas A&M University, where he is currently completing a doctorate in Economics. For more information on Trans4Cast, please contact Roxanne Bullard at 1-800-203-2540 ext. 6230.
How Much is Policy Uncertainty Hindering the Economy?
By Jeremy West, Internet Truckstop Economist
Consider the following situation:
You operate a small carrier and are considering adding a few trucks to your fleet. There is a (hypothetical) politician who is campaigning for a U.S. Senate seat on a platform of further expanding the FMCSA regulations to require any commercial truck that crosses state lines to have two drivers in the cab with combined driving experience of at least twenty years. (You may think this hypothetical rule sounds ridiculous, but some opinions of the current CSA regulations indicate that such a proposal would not be that big of a leap). Suppose that this politician has a sizeable chance of winning his campaign. Are you going to buy any new trucks today, or wait (at least) until after the November election?
The above situation illustrates the role of “policy uncertainty” in shaping economic decisions. In this case, whether or not you invest in expanding your fleet will be partly determined by the outcome of the upcoming election. As a result of this uncertainty, you forgo making the decision until after the election outcome is known.
It isn’t just elections that create policy uncertainty. As was mentioned in a post to the Industry Economic Update LinkedIn group, this practice of delaying investment decisions is currently widespread in the economy. In a recent article on political uncertainty, the Washington Times notes, “[if] there’s one thing investors and employers hate, it’s not knowing what lies ahead.”
Two groups of academic researchers have attempted to quantify the effect of policy uncertainty on the economy. In their article, “Measuring Economic Policy Uncertainty” (pdf), Scott R. Baker, Nicholas Bloom, and Steven J. Davis link several measures of political uncertainty (such as the frequency of media references to policy uncertainty) to declines in real GDP, private investment, and aggregate employment. Separately, Sylvain Leduc and Zheng Liu find that uncertainty about future economic conditions is substantially responsible for the sluggish economic recovery that has followed the recession.
With an upcoming national election, a looming “fiscal cliff,” and continuing instability in the Eurozone, the economic climate is quite unclear. The outlook will remain murky until businesses and consumers can better determine the political environment in which they must operate.
Press Release – Tran4Cast Powered by Internet Truckstop Market Demand Index (MDI) Decreases 10%
Tran4Cast Powered by Internet Truckstop Market Demand Index (MDI) Decreases 10%
NEW PLYMOUTH, Idaho, September 18, 2012– Internet Truckstop, the largest web-based freight matching service in the transportation industry reports that the Market Demand Index (MDI) decreased 10% to 11.83 from 13.2 the previous week as reported in the weekly Trans4Cast.
The overall average equipment rate decreased 3% to $2.09 from $2.16 the previous week. Flatbed rates decreased 1% to $1.96 from $1.98 the previous week. Reefer rates decreased 6% to $2.16 from $2.30 the previous week. Specialized truck rates decreased 3% to $2.41 from $2.49 the previous week. Van rates decreased 2% to $1.82 from $1.86 the previous week.
“The economic climate remains tumultuous for trucking. On Friday, the Census Bureau reported that August retail sales increased nearly 1% from July, while the Federal Reserve reported that manufacturing activity shed 0.7% over the same period. Trucking activity should be seasonally strong through November, but broader instability continues to temper volumes and rates.”
Jeremy West, Internet Truckstop Economist
About Internet Truckstop
Founded in 1995, Internet Truckstop is the first and largest freight matching service on the web. Internet Truckstop offers more tools than any other freight matching service available. These easy-to-use tools, the largest freight database, and a commitment to the transportation industry make Internet Truckstop the leader in Internet freight matching.
About Trans4Cast powered by Internet Truckstop
Trans4Cast is the compilation of highly relevant data, easily accessible to all trucking professionals. The Market Demand Index (MDI), a measure of relative truck demand, is culled from Internet Truckstop data. Internet Truckstop compiles this weekly report that will assist in making critical business decisions. The report is now a web series with a news anchor and appears as the Industry Economic Update on BigTruckTV.com, Internet Truckstop, and Truckload Carriers Association. The show is produced bi-weekly and can be accessed online 24/7. Jeremy West is the economic consultant preparing this report. He holds a bachelor of science in Economics, with minor degrees in Business and Creative Studies, from Texas A&M University, where he is currently completing a doctorate in Economics. For more information on Trans4Cast, please contact Roxanne Bullard at 1-800-203-2540 ext. 6230.
