U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said a full economic depression can be averted and that the recession could end later in the year, in an interview aired on CBS’ “60 Minutes” last night.
The Fed chief said the key to a full recovery is to stabilize the banking system, saying that he would seek to avoid massive bank failures while not propping up wounded banks indefinitely, according to Bloomberg.
"We're working on it,” Bernanke said on "60 Minutes." “And I do think that we will get it stabilized, and we'll see the recession coming to an end probably this year. We'll see recovery beginning next year. And it will pick up steam over time."
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said a full economic depression can be averted and that the recession could end later in the year, in an interview aired on CBS’ “60 Minutes” last night.
The Fed chief said the key to a full recovery is to stabilize the banking system, saying that he would seek to avoid massive bank failures while not propping up wounded banks indefinitely, according to Bloomberg.
"We're working on it,” Bernanke said on "60 Minutes." “And I do think that we will get it stabilized, and we'll see the recession coming to an end probably this year. We'll see recovery beginning next year. And it will pick up steam over time."
In addition, there have already been good signs in the trucking industry. Chris Brady, president of Commercial Motor Vehicle Consulting (CMVC), told FleetOwner that we’re beginning to see non-durable goods starting to recover, and there has been an upturn in retail sales in some segments.
“We’re starting to see some positive signs within the supply chain,” Brady said. “Things could easily bottom out in the near future, or at least decelerate…Over the past two months, there have been initial signs of a return in freight, but for carriers, it all depends on the goods they deliver.”
Brady said that although each recovery is different, just like every recession is different, recovery begins with non-durable goods starting to come back, followed by durable goods and then machinery and business investment.
He also noted that the upturn will be spurned on by how fast spending recovers, although he admits it will probably be gradual. He said that the unemployment numbers should not be used to judge economic growth, as it is a lagging economic indicator and the last step in recovery is hiring additional workers.
The American Trucking Assns’ (ATA) for-hire truck tonnage index rose 3% in January 2009, the most recent month in which data is available. It marked only the second month-to-month increase in the last seven months, and it followed a 7.8% contraction in December, according to ATA.
