U.S. Rig Numbers Say Growth Can't Keep On Truckin'
Are the wheels coming off the global economy?
Photographer: T.J. KirkpatrickBloombergA couple of months ago, I looked through the data on goods being shipped across the world's oceans and reached the conclusion that the various indexes were signaling bad news for the global economy. A reader suggested taking a similar look at what's happening on the highways of North America, particularly with regard to demand for trucks used to haul goods around the country. The numbers suggest hauliers in the world's biggest economy aren't exactly bursting with optimism about the outlook.
The website truckinginfo.com says U.S. fleet operators have "no additional need for capacity, and that "the market may not have bottomed out yet as activity is expected to remain soft during the slower summer order season."