Domestic Trade Is Disintegrating: Heavy Truck Orders Plunge To Lowest Since 2010

Jon Alternative Media, Blogosphere, Economy, Fiscal Policies, Market Commentary

Who says you need trade and logistics to maintain the S&P within 2% of its all time high? Not the Fed, that’s who, and it’s a wonderful thing because the state of US heavy trucking – the backbone of domestic trade infrastructure and logistical supply chains – suggests the US economy is in a far more dire state than the Fed would ever admit.
According to the latest data from ACT Research released today, June orders for new heavy-duty, or Class 8, trucks plunged to just 13,100, the lowest number since 2010 according to the WSJ (and since 2012 according to Bloomberg, but no need to split hairs here) indicating that trucking companies – the forward-looking bedrock of any viable recovery along with rails – expect little relief from a weak freight market and sluggish economic growth. This month’s order activity was the lowest monthly total since July 2012 and the worst June since 2009.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Jul 6, 2016.