diesel-use index points to steady economic growth
There is at least one group of economists who don’t think
the economic sky is about to fall.
The developers of a monthly index that measures economic activity by tracking truck drivers’ fuel purchases said
the index rose in July, indicating that a “slow but steady”
economic recovery is under way. The latest release of the
Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index (PCI) showed
diesel purchases by the nation’s over-the-road truck drivers
climbed 1. 7 percent in July, after falling 1. 9 percent in June.
The PCI, published by the University of California, Los
Angeles Anderson School of Management, analyzes data
captured by Ceridian from fuel credit cards swiped by drivers as they fill their rigs. The database is built by tracking
and analyzing information on the location and volume of
fuel being purchased.
UCLA and Ceridian said because the consumption data is
tracked in real time, the index paints an accurate picture of
product movement across the United States and thus, pro-
vides a clear window on overall economic performance.
Craig Manson, senior vice president for Ceridian and an
expert on the PCI, noted that the June PCI index had fore-
cast second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth
of 2. 5 percent. The actual number reported by the govern-
ment was 2. 4 percent.
newsmakers
; Hytrol Conveyor Co. has appointed Mitch
Johnson director of systems development.
Johnson, who comes to Hytrol with 27 years
of engineering and sales experience, most
recently served as a regional sales manager
for Intelligrated.
JOHNSON
; Jay Kovarik has rejoined Battery Handling Systems
(BHS) as director of national accounts. Kovarik brings 25
years of material handling experience as an account manager and national account manager to his new position.
O’KELLEY
; Carol O’Kelley is the new chief marketing
officer at RedPrairie Corp. O’Kelley, who
brings nearly 20 years of experience to her
new position, most recently was vice president and chief of staff of Oracle’s Retail Global
Business Unit. Prior to joining Oracle, she
worked for Manhattan Associates and Retek.
; Ken Colby has been appointed the new chief executive
officer at Pinc Solutions, a developer of yard management
solutions. Colby, who most recently served as senior vice
president of global operations at Smart Drive Systems, brings
over 30 years of experience in software and services to his
new position. He replaces Aleks Gollu, co-founder of Pinc,
who will now serve as chief technology officer.
; TGW has hired Steve Schwietert as systems sales manager for the retail and direct-to-consumer vertical markets.
Schwietert, who previously worked for Fortna and Advanced
Handling Systems, brings extensive experience in retail distribution center design and operations to his new role at TGW.
; Scott Johnson has been promoted to vice president of
business development at Clark Material Handling. Johnson
has been with the forklift manufacturer since 1995 in a variety of roles, including Eastern regional sales manager, after-market sales and marketing manager, director of marketing,
and director of dealer services.
; CargoWise, a developer of software for logistics service
providers, has hired Todd DeRosa as its global marketing
manager. DeRosa, who will be based in Sydney, Australia,
will be responsible for all global marketing strategies, partner
relationships, and product management initiatives.
