Pulse of Commerce Index Increased 0.1 Percent in November

MINNEAPOLIS and LOS ANGELES, Dec. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index® (PCI®), issued today by the UCLA Anderson School of Management and Ceridian Corporation rose 0.1 percent in November following a 1.1 percent increase in October. 

Over the past three months, compared to the prior three months, the PCI declined at an annualized rate of 4.8 percent.  On a year-over-year basis, the PCI grew 0.9 percent in November compared to the 1.3 percent year-over-year increase in October.  "The continuing weakness in the PCI is out-of-sync with real retail sales.  The year-over-year increase in real retail sales through October was 3.6 percent compared with an increase in the PCI of 1.3 percent.  The disconnect between real retail sales and the PCI suggests that retailers have learned to better manage their inventory.  Therefore, shoppers can anticipate fewer bargains in the month ahead, and relatively little stock left for the after-Christmas sales," said Ed Leamer, chief economist for the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index and director of the UCLA Anderson Forecast.

"Given the weak PCI, the advance estimate of third quarter GDP growth of 2.5 percent was surprising, but the final estimate may be lower," said Leamer in last month's report.  The inventory contribution to third quarter GDP was indeed revised downward to minus 1.55 percent, which accounted for most of the revision of GDP growth to 2.0 percent.  With two months of data available, the PCI suggests fourth quarter GDP growth in range of 0.0 to 1.0 percent.

Based on the latest PCI data, our forecast for November Industrial Production is a 0.06 percent increase when the government estimate is released on December 15.

The complete November report, regional analysis and additional commentary are available at www.ceridianindex.com or by contacting [email protected].  The site offers further detail such as Index graphs and downloadable data, video commentary and sound bites, information on how the data is obtained, and the opportunity to receive updates on the latest information via e-mail and RSS feeds.

About Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index

The Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index® is based on real-time diesel fuel consumption data for over the road trucking and serves as an indicator of the state and possible future direction of the U.S. economy.  By tracking the volume and location of fuel being purchased, the index closely monitors the over the road movement of raw materials, goods-in-process and finished goods to U.S. factories, retailers and consumers.  Working with economists at UCLA Anderson School of Management and Charles River Associates, Ceridian provides the Index monthly. Ceridian is a global business services company providing electronic and stored value card payment services and human resources solutions. UCLA Anderson School of Management is perennially ranked among top-tier business schools in the world. Charles River Associates is a leading global consulting firm that offers economic, financial, and business management expertise to organizations around the world.

For additional information on the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index, please visit www.ceridianindex.com.

SOURCE Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index