Related: Economic Watch: Interest Rates Unchanged, Housing Starts Fall
Economic Watch: Leading Economic Index Points to Slow Growth
A measure of the health of the nation’s economy and where it's headed moved slightly higher, but one analyst says the rate of growth remains unimpressive.


A measure of the health of the nation’s economy and where it's headed moved slightly higher, but one analyst says the rate of growth remains unimpressive.
The Conference Board said on Friday its Leading Economic Index increased 0.1% to 123.7, following no change in July, and a 0.6% increase in June.
“The U.S. LEI suggests economic growth will remain moderate into the new year, with little reason to expect growth to pick up substantially,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, director of business cycles and growth research at the private research group. “Average working hours and new orders in manufacturing have been weak, pointing to more slow growth in the industrial sector. However, employment, personal income and manufacturing and trade sales have all been rising, helping to offset the weakness in industrial production in recent months.”
The index is used to gauge where the economy is headed in the next three to six months. It is made up of 10 components, including stock prices, manufacturing levels and home construction.
The group’s Coincident Economic Index, which measures current economic activity, increased 0.1% in August following a 0.4% gain in July and a 0.1% improvement in June.
The Lagging Economic Index, which measures U.S. economic activity of previous months, increased 0.2% in August, following a 0.3 percent hike in July, and a 0.9% jump in June.
The report comes as one analyst describes U.S. economic growth as remaining unimpressive.
“Given the pedestrian rate of economic growth, recent bloating of inventories, the strong U.S. dollar, and the plunge in energy prices, freight volume growth has slowed significantly in 2015,” said John Larkin, Stifel Transportation and Logistics Research Group’s managing director, following FTR’s annual Transportation Conference this week in Indianapolis. “In addition, fewer supply chain disruptions combined with reduced demand have created a more fluid logistics network in 2015, when compared to 2014.”
However, he said domestic intermodal volumes should continue to grow, partially offset by some international share shift from the West Coast to the East Coast.
“Evidence suggests that shippers have pulled market share to the East Coast and there is limited evidence of much of that share reverting back. Truckers, 3PLs and railroads can collaborate to move more domestic freight, in the long-haul, high-density lanes, via rail-based intermodal.”
More Fleet Management

How Innovative Trucking Leaders Turn Change Into an Advantage
As the pace of change accelerates in trucking, the fleets that adapt best have more than the latest technology. They have cultures that embrace improvement.
Read More →
Freight Broker Bonds Just Got Harder to Get. Here's What That Means for Your Fleet.
When it gets harder for a freight broker to prove they are financially sound, the ones who cannot clear that bar get pushed out of the market. And those are exactly the brokers who used to leave motor carriers holding the bag.
Read More →
Long-Awaited Canadian Border Bridge to Open in Detroit
For trucking, the bridge opening should offer immediate improvements in efficiency and reliability, with new customs facilities, expanded inspection capacity, and direct freeway-to-freeway connections.
Read More →
Aurora Rolls Out Next Generation of Driverless Trucks for Commercial Freight
Aurora's latest autonomous trucks it's rolling out with International feature lower-cost hardware designed for a million miles as the company expands commercial driverless freight operations across the U.S. Sun Belt.
Read More →
Freight Tonnage Down, Rates up, as Lower Capacity Powers Trucking Recovery
The recovery from the freight recession continues to be driven by reduction in capacity rather than by increased demand.
Read More →
Think Your Trucking Fleet Isn't Using Much AI? Think Again
Shadow AI — the use of unauthorized artificial intelligence tools at work — is becoming increasingly common, putting sensitive company data at risk. Learn how trucking fleets can protect sensitive data while embracing AI.
Read More →
ArcBest Consolidates Brands, Cuts Workforce
The company will bring three business units under the ArcBest brand, eliminate about 2% of positions, and expects the changes to generate $40 million in annual savings.
Read More →
Trucking Fleets Faced Record Operating Costs During Third Year of Freight Recession
ATRI's annual operational cost report shows carriers trimmed fleets, delayed equipment purchases, and ran older trucks as expenses continued to outpace freight rates.
Read More →
Michelin Adds AI Assistant to MyConnectedFleet Platform
Michelin’s new generative AI tool delivers instant fleet insights, helping managers analyze fuel use, tire maintenance, vehicle status, and operational performance without manually creating reports.
Read More →
LytxOne Platform Now Features AI, Compliance, and Asset Tracking Tools
New enhancements add AI-powered insights, asset tracking, compliance automation, and configurable privacy controls to Lytx's all-in-one fleet management platform.
Read More →
