TransCore’s Freight Trends indicate that Oregon and Washington are seeing signs of an economic recovery.

TransCore's Freight Trends showed four consecutive months of increased outbound freight shipments from the Northwest. The data, based on the full-truckload shipments offered on TransCore's freight-exchange network from January through April 2002, showed Oregon's year-over-year outbound shipments increasing 17 percent in January, 26 percent in February, 23 percent in March and 15 percent in April. Washington's outbound shipments increased 22 percent, 13 percent, 36 percent and 57 percent year-over-year in the same period.
"We believe this increase in outbound shipments is an early indicator of economic recovery in the Northwest," said Marc Cameron, TransCore Commercial Services chief operating officer. "With the region's unemployment rate among the highest in the nation and its manufacturing sector continuing to struggle, this is clearly encouraging news for Oregon and Washington."
To create the indicators, TransCore's Beaverton, Ore.-based Commercial Services division examines historical data from its electronic freight-exchange network, through which 19,000 transportation carriers and intermediaries trade available equipment and shipments with one another on a daily basis.