by Calculated Risk on 6/09/2010 05:50:00 PM
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Waste Traffic Indicator?
From Bloomberg: Waste on Freight Cars Gains Most Since ’94 Confirming Rebound (ht Brian)
If garbage is any indication, the U.S. economy is strengthening.And here is the graph:
The number of freight cars carrying waste jumped 45 percent in April and May from the same period last year ... according to the Washington-based Association of American Railroads.
...
Shipments of waste and scrap have a higher correlation with economic growth than coal or copper, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.
From the Association of American Railroads: Rail Time Indicators: Waste and Scrap Materials traffic in May 2010 was "up 37.1% from May 2009 and down 20.4% from May 2008."
Waste traffic was down from the April level. The Bloomberg article suggests this confirms the "economy is strengthening" - I'd say this shows the recovery has been sluggish (still well below the May 2008 level) and the economy might have slowed in May (although one month doesn't make a trend).