Tom Wilson, CEO of Allstate, the insurance giant, believes an iconic element of the national character is doomed. “Americans’ love affair with the car is going to go away,” he told an audience of executives at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech dinner on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday evening.
Factory activity weakened across much of Europe and Asia in December as the U.S.-China trade war and a slowdown in demand hit production in many economies, offering little reason for optimism as the new year begins.
A survey of American manufacturers showed the slowest growth in December in 15 months, reflecting a dip in confidence among executives about how their businesses will perform in the new year. IHS Markit said its manufacturing PMI slipped to 53.8 in December from an initial reading of 53.9, and it was down from 55.3 in the prior month.
Oil started 2019 with another price slide as weaker Chinese manufacturing data pointed to slowing demand in the world’s second-biggest consumer of the fuel and to growing risks of a global crude surplus.
The U.S. average retail price of diesel dropped 2.9 cents to $3.048 a gallon, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported, as crude oil prices hovered around $45 per barrel.
The effects of the partial shutdown of the federal government on the rail community appear not to be significant, at least for now. The action comes as President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress remain locked in a budget dispute over funding for a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.
Orders to U.S. factories for long-lasting goods rose at a modest pace last month, but the gain was driven entirely by demand for military aircraft. Excluding transportation equipment, orders fell. Durable goods orders impact the trucking industry because trucks transport most of the goods once they are produced.
Sales during the U.S. holiday shopping season rose 5.1 percent to over $850 billion in 2018, the strongest in the past six years, according to a Mastercard report, as shoppers were encouraged by a robust economy and early discounts.
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