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FTR Conference: Expect a Freight Recovery, Just Not a Big One
<img width="150" src="http://www.automotive-fleet.com/fc_images/news/m-meckstroth-ftr2016-eel-1.jpg" border="0" alt="
Daniel Meckstroth, chief economist with the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation, expects a fourth-quarter spike in production. Photo: Evan Lockridge
">Daniel Meckstroth, chief economist with the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation, expects a fourth-quarter spike in production. Photo: Evan Lockridge
">While a recovery for freight and the overall U.S. economy is in the cards for the fourth quarter of the year, those attending the first sessions of the FTR Transportation Conference in Indianapolis on Wednesday were also told by experts they should not expect a huge boom.
Daniel Meckstroth, chief economist with the industry group the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI), said that after a long while July shows “the first indication that the manufacturing inventory-to-sales ratios are falling” after higher levels hurt freight shipments earlier in the year. The July level is also the lowest in about two years.
“In the future, we are going to get a spike in production, I think is going to occur in the fourth quarter … not only in the manufacturing sector but [also] in the U.S. economy,” he said.
The reason, Meckstroth said, is that inventory cycles, such as the high one manufacturing has experienced lately, are usually short. When they are over, you typically see a spike in production.
High inventories have been a drag on economic activity as well as freight movements, but now they are coming into closer balance. This results not only in better sales of manufactured goods but others as well, resulting in an improvement in the general economy.
Helping this along is the ever-resilient U.S. consumer, who accounts for about 70% of all U.S. economic activity. Meckstroth said “consumers are keeping us out of a recession.” How are they doing it? Because, as he put it, “we are in a jobs boom, with the percentage of new jobs being adding being much faster than overall economic expansion.”
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Chevin, CalAmp Partner for Integrated Telematics Data
Chevin Fleet Solutions has adopted CalAmp's telematics services for its fleet asset management software. The solution, named FleetWave Connect, will enable Chevin's U.S.-based fleet management customers to see integrated telematics information including odometer, fuel, and engine diagnostics to better schedule, manage, and perform maintenance on their fleet assets.
“Fleet managers need more timely and accurate data to shed light on where their equipment is operating and how it's being used,” said Ron Katz, North American senior vice president for Chevin Fleet Solutions. “Integration with CalAmp's Telematics Cloud provides a cost-effective way for our clients to view critical and actionable performance data within Chevin's fleet management software.”
CalAmp will provide these components of the FleetWave Connect solution: CalAmp Telematics Cloud; LMU-3000 Series with OBD II Interface, which provides access to vehicle diagnostic data, tracking vehicle speed, and location, certain driving behaviors, and pre- and post-impact data; and LMU-4200 Series Enterprise-Grade Fleet Management Gateway, which provides flexible, expandable support for a broad range of connection options for vehicles.
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