Have you ever ever puzzled if car kilometers traveled (VMT) does a great job of predicting recessions? You must have stopped after studying this Econbrowser article from January 4, however I believed an replace to the newest information can be fascinating since we get the December information. First check out what VMT does throughout recessions, in comparison with heavy truck gross sales (recommended by calculated threat at occasions) and Sahm’s eponymous rule (real-time model).
Determine 1: 12-month progress charge of vehicle-kilometres traveled, nos (teal), truck gross sales, sa (tan) and Sahm rule indicator – actual time (black). Sahm’s rule is the 3-month shifting common unemployment charge relative to the bottom unemployment charge within the final 12 months. The pink dotted line signifies the edge for the Sahm rule indicator. The NBER has outlined peak-to-trough recession dates as shaded. Hypothetical 2022H1 recession shaded lilac. Supply: FHA through FRED, census through FRED, FRED and NBER.
It is laborious to see, however the 12-month change in MTV declined just a few months in the past earlier than recovering in December (it is this decline Mr. Steven Kopits pointed to), whereas heavy truck gross sales had been up by means of January, year-over-year. The Sahm rule is precisely zero in accordance with February information launched yesterday (it takes 0.5 factors to cross the edge).
In any case, VMT progress is a poor predictor of recession (McFadden R2 of 0.07) in comparison with heavy truck gross sales (0.28) (see regression outcomes on this article).
Wanting forward, I might be much more cautious about utilizing the VMT as an indicator, on condition that the connection between the VMT and GDP has apparently gone by means of a structural break. In Determine 2, I plot car miles traveled (seasonally adjusted) at a quarterly charge by US GDP at a quarterly charge (so the models are car miles traveled/GDP in actual {dollars}). There’s a clear pattern of a decline of 1.15% per 12 months over the interval 2000-19. (I am estimating a stochastic pattern since I am unable to come near rejecting a unit root within the logarithmic ratio.) Utilizing the estimated pattern to challenge ahead, I get:
Determine 2: Car miles traveled per Ch.2012$ GDP (blue line) and estimated stochastic pattern over the interval 2000-19 (beige line), on a logarithmic scale. The NBER has outlined peak-to-trough recession dates as shaded. Hypothetical 2022H1 recession shaded lilac. Supply: FHA, BEA, NBER and creator’s calculations.
In different phrases, Mr. Kopits considered the downgrade to a seemingly new trendline as a cyclically induced discount in VMT.
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