"After a period of widely fluctuating demand in late 2008 through last year, we anticipate that 2011 will be the beginning of a period of sustained growth in our truck engine markets in the U.S.," Thomas Linebarger, chief operating officer of Cummins Inc., said on an April 26 teleconference.
The Columbus, Ind.-based maker of diesel engines projects 2011 sales to be up 30% from last year, compared with a previous forecast for a 20% gain.
United Parcel Service Inc., the world's biggest package- delivery company, this week bolstered its full-year forecast after revenue per package climbed in all its sectors during the first quarter.
The gains reflect "some of the increased velocity in the core economy with manufacturing and finished goods," Kurt Kuehn, chief financial officer of the Atlanta-based firm, said in an April 26 telephone interview.
UPS and FedEx Corp. handle goods ranging from financial documents to pharmaceuticals and industrial parts, making them economic bellwethers.
Inflation
The Fed's preferred price gauge, which is tied to consumer spending and strips out food and energy costs, climbed to a 1.5% annual pace. The Fed's longer term projection for inflation is a range of 1.7% to 2%. Rising oil and food costs may push up the prices of other goods and services.
"Increases in the prices of energy and other commodities have pushed up inflation in recent months," the Federal Open Market Committee said yesterday in its statement after a two-day meeting in Washington. Still, "longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable and measures of underlying inflation are still subdued," the Fed said.
Bernanke has signaled that the Fed will maintain record stimulus until job growth accelerates and the recovery is robust enough to withstand tighter credit.