Bad Credit Mortgage Refinance ®
		Home Page Mortgage News You Can Use U.S. transportation index is new gauge of economy Reuters, 01.29.04, 10:14 AM ET By Daniel Bases NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation Department Thursday launched a new way to measure the strength of the economy by using freight and passenger service volumes. U.S. Treasury Secretary Norman Mineta was due to unveil the Transportation Services Index at the New York Stock Exchange after having rung the opening bell. The monthly index, which will have about a two-month lag, will be launched in March and hold data going back to 1990. "It is the first index to measure the overall volume of transportation in the U.S. economy" said John Wells, chief economist at the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. "In particular our research index tends to lead changes in the overall economy before a turn down" Wells told Reuters. "But at the end of a recession it tends not to be a leading indicator. It rises at the same time as the overall economy rises." The index, as well as measuring passenger and freight volumes by road and rail, will measure inland waterway traffic and pipeline volumes. Wells said research showed that 61 percent of the index was made up of freight in 2002, down from 72 percent in 1980. According to the Transportation Department, there are 3.9 million miles of public roads and 2 million miles of oil and natural gas pipelines. There are also 120,000 miles of major railroads, more than 25,000 miles of commercially navigable waterways and more than 5,000 public-use airports.   Back to Original Article: Mortgage News You Can Use   Continue with: Bankrate: Mortgage Rates Rise Amid Fed Speculation Falling Mortgage Rates Provide Opportunity Housing prices chasing firefighters out Why the Bull May Be Tiring
		Bad Credit Mortgage Refinance Eliminate Credit Card Debt - San Diego Real Estate