Truck Tonnage is a good proxy for the physical size of the U.S. economy, since it represents 70% of the tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. This year’s volatility is probably due to the disruptions caused by Trump’s tariffs. Nevertheless. July’s data shows that tonnage is still in a rising trend.
The Author provides 6 charts in his article. Here is #3, which shows the close correlation between truck tonnage moved and equity prices.
You can read the entire article by clicking HERE
The Calafia Beach Pundit is Scott Grannis, who regularly writes an insightful and informative economic-oriented blog. Scott was Chief Economist from 1979-2007 at Western Asset Management, a Pasadena-based, global manager of fixed-income portfolios for institutional clients. He continues to keep up on economics, markets, and politics from his condo overlooking Calafia Beach on the southern California coast.
