Keep On Truckin': Ed Leamer Keeps His Eyes On the Road With Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index

A year ago in Assets magazine, we had the pleasure of introducing the Anderson community to the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index (PCI) by UCLA Anderson School of Management. The monthly PCI, developed by Ceridian in conjunction with economists at UCLA Anderson and Charles River Associates (CRA), it is a real-time data set that tracks diesel fuel transactions at service centers across the United States, enabling economists to observe goods being transported across the country.

Said UCLA Anderson Forecast Director Ed Leamer, who also serves as the PCI chief economist, “It is called the Pulse of Commerce, because the arteries of the economy are the interstates that crisscross the country, and the products on the trucks are the lifeblood of the system. Without the movement of goods, the economy would die.” 

Now, after more than a years worth of monthly reports, Leamer's enthusiasm remains high for the value the PCI brings to both national and regional economic discussions. As such, he recently participated in the UCLA Anderson Podcast to discuss how the PCI has performed since its inception.

 

The podcast covers the significance of the PCI (Leamer believes that it will ultimately be included in the indexes of leading economic indicators), the public relations benefits to both Ceridian and UCLA Anderson (he makes monthly appearances on national television to coincide with each new release) and, of course, his current take on the economy. (Note, the podcast was recorded in late March 2011.)