Fuel commerce index points to US recovery

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Fuel consumption data in the U.S. indicates the transportation and the economy is finally on the rebound.

Following February’s 0.7 percent drop, the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index (PCI) by UCLA Anderson School of Management managed to gain 1 percent in March, growing from 107.4 to 108.5.

The PCI represents real-time diesel fuel consumption data from over-the-road trucking tracked by Ceridian, a provider of electronic and stored value card payment services and human resources solutions.

While the PCI measured year-over-year declines prior to December 2009, March marks the fourth straight month the index has seen year-over-year improvements.

"The good news in March is that the economy is still recovering at a pace that should support job growth, although unfortunately not at a pace that will drive rapid improvement in the unemployment rate," said Ed Leamer, chief economist for the PCI. "GDP needs to grow at a 5 to 6 percent rate to drive meaningful change in unemployment."