The transportation industry appears to be on the upswing, according to a recent survey of economists and other experts.
The National Association for Business Economics’ (NABE) quarterly survey polled a number of economic experts about a variety of factors, including “net rising index,” (NRI), which reflects the percentage of respondents predicting employment increases versus those predicting decreases.
UPI reports that the transportation, utilities, information and communications sector saw its NRI increase from 23 last quarter to 45 for the first quarter of 2011.
The survey wasn’t the only good news for the transportation industry, as the NWI Times reports that the sector is growing in the Midwest.
“In general, [freight volume] is the best we’ve seen since the bottom out in 2009 and the first part of 2010,” Eric Starks, the president of Freight Transportation Research Associates in Nashville, Indiana, told the news source.
One of the companies experiencing growth is the Hub Group, which focuses on intermodal shipping. Company spokeswoman Elena Izakson told the news provider that the company is very optimistic and expected to hire workers in some of their divisions.