Originally posted at The Trucker online – Nov. 5th: The modest lift to the economy is expected to come in the first months of 2013. Construction firms, contractors and local governments will hire to rebuild or renovate homes, buildings, roads and bridges that were damaged or destroyed.
“This is going to be a net positive, particularly in the mid-Atlantic,” said Sophia Koropeckyj, managing director Moody’s Economy.com.
Sandy inflicted up to $50 billion in estimated losses from property damage, lost business and additional living costs. The damage was concentrated near the coastlines of New Jersey and New York City.
While this may be welcome news after a sluggish economic recovery and the carnage caused by the landfall of the Superstorm in early November, economists are quick to point out that the construction hiring may be only modest and will likely boost the economy only slightly. And the storm damage could slow growth a bit in the current October-December quarter.
However, all industry analysts point to the obvious fact that construction companies rely heavily on over the road and regional hauling for materials to begin new projects, which is more than welcome news for the trucking industry. Late fall job reports in trucking have the hiring rates slightly better than flat.
Many economic experts believe that reconstruction will speed the economy by the same amount in both the first and second quarters of 2013. Last quarter, the economy grew at an estimated 2 percent annual rate.
Read the rest of the article at The Trucker Online.