Productivity Rose 1.6% in First Quarter

U.S. worker productivity rose at a 1.6% annual pace in the first quarter of 2003, the Labor Department reported Thursday, which was more than twice the pace of the previous three months but below expectations.

Trucking is sensitive to the economy, so positive economic news is usually a signal that the demand for trucking services will improve.

Productivity, which grew at a 0.7% clip in the fourth quarter of 2002, is the measure how much an employee produces for every hour worked. Analysts had expected a 2% increase, Bloomberg said.

Analysts attributed the increase compared with the fourth quarter to the economy, which did show slight growth, and that companies are holding down payrolls. Technological gains in the last decade enabled companies to produce as many goods with fewer workers, Bloomberg said.

Labor also said Thursday that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to 448,000 in the week ended April 26 from a revised 461,000 the prior week.

However, the jobless claims figure was above expectations, Reuters reported, and remained above the benchmark reading of 400,000 that points to a weak labor market.

The productivity report also showed that productivity at the nation's factories grew at a 2.1% rate in the first quarter, after decreasing at a revised 0.5% rate in the fourth quarter. Manufacturing is one of trucking’s largest customers.

The cost of labor for each unit of production rose at a 1.9% rate after a 3.2% gain in the fourth quarter, Labor said.

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