Economy Grew at at 1.1% Rate in 2Q
The U.S. economy grew at a 1.1% annual rate in the second quarter of 2002, which is the same as the Commerce Department initially estimated last month.
Trucking is sensitive to economic conditions and will benefit from overall growth.
Reuters said analysts were expecting Thursday’s report on the total value of all goods and services produced in the United States to be revised up to a 1.2% rate of growth.
Growth in the current quarter is expected to increase because consumers are buying more homes and cars. However, it is not expected to be near levels seen in the first quarter because business spending and corporate profits have remained sluggish.
The report showed after-tax corporate profits rose 1.7% in the second quarter, less than the 2% increase in the previous quarter.
Consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of the economy, rose at a 1.9%, which was also the as reported last month. In the first quarter, spending grew at a 3.1% clip.
Business fixed investment fell at a 1.2% annual rate. That compares with the 1.6% rate of decline reported a month ago and follows a 5.8% rate of decrease.
In the second quarter, inventories rose by $7.3 billion at an annual rate, more than the $1 billion increase initially reported. It was the first rise in six quarters and contributed 1.4 percentage points to growth.
Inventories dropped at a $28.9 billion rate in the first quarter, which also contributed to growth because it was a smaller decline than in the fourth quarter.
In actual dollar terms, unadjusted for inflation, GDP totaled $10.4 trillion in the second quarter when measured at an annual rate, up from $10.3 trillion in the first quarter.
