A Decline in the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index™ for August Signals Struggling Economy, but no Double-Dip

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index™ (PCI) by UCLA Anderson School of Management fell 1 percent in August, a disappointing number that closes out an erratic summer in the PCI. The decline indicates an economy that is struggling to move forward, following July's increase of 1.7 percent and June's drop of 1.9 percent.

While the boost in the July PCI showed a U.S. economy in slow recovery, index experts warned last month that August and September must deliver exceptional results to support a strong, third quarter GDP number. The August figure falls short of meeting that requirement.

"The August data is obviously discouraging after the cautious optimism created from July's report," said Ed Leamer, chief PCI economist. "There is not much to feel good about with the August data in terms of the unemployment picture, but there is a silver lining in that the August PCI is still far from double-dip territory."

The August PCI is consistent with a predicted third quarter GDP growth number in the range of 1.5 to 2.5 percent, which is the current consensus view of the economy. The low GDP percentage range is significantly under the 5 to 6 percent rate required to put people back to work.

Year-over-year August PCI growth of 6 percent represents the ninth straight month of growth, but the figure has been steadily dropping since June. PCI results need to reach 10 to 15 percent year-over-year growth for a healthy job market.

"The restocking of inventory and exceptional growth in imports that were helping drive the transportation of goods and materials appears to be over," said Craig Manson, senior vice president and index expert for Ceridian. "We have seen August economic results from the manufacturing sector continuing their positive momentum, but it's too difficult to interpret, at this point, what it means for trucking."

The PCI closely tracks the Federal Reserve's monthly Industrial Production (IP) index and forecasts expected results for the IP, which is released later in the month. The PCI is projecting essentially no growth in the IP with an August figure of 0.1 percent.

The Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index also provides data for the nine Census regions. The August data uncovered widespread, regional declines in every region except for the West North Central region (e.g. Minnesota and Missouri), which grew by 1.3 percent. The Pacific region (Washington, Oregon, California) dropped the most in August by 2.9 percent. The East South Central region (e.g. Alabama and Tennessee) experienced the least decline at 0.1 percent.

The PCI is based on an analysis of real-time diesel fuel consumption data from over the road trucking tracked by Ceridian, a global provider of electronic and stored value card payment services and human resources solutions. By analyzing payment card data for the location and volume of diesel fuel purchased by truck operators, the PCI provides a detailed picture of the movement of goods and materials across the United States.

The complete August report and additional commentary are available at www.ceridianindex.com or by contacting [email protected]. The site offers further detail such as index graphs and downloadable data, video commentary and sound bites, information on how the data is obtained, and the opportunity to receive updates on the latest information via e-mail and RSS feeds.

About Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index

The Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index™ is based on real-time diesel fuel consumption data for over the road trucking and serves as an indicator of the state and possible future direction of the U.S. economy. By tracking the volume and location of fuel being purchased, the index closely monitors the over the road movement of raw materials, goods-in-process and finished goods to U.S. factories, retailers and consumers. Working with economists at UCLA Anderson School of Management and Charles River Associates, Ceridian provides the index monthly and also offers companies access to more detailed fuel-use information. Ceridian is a global business services company providing electronic and stored value card payment services and human resources solutions. UCLA Anderson School of Management is perennially ranked among top-tier business schools in the world. Charles River Associates is a leading global consulting firm that offers economic, financial, and business management expertise to organizations around the world.

For additional information on the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index, please visit www.ceridianindex.com.

SOURCE Ceridian