The ANZ Truckometer is a set of two economic indicators derived using traffic volume data from around the country. Traffic flows are a real-time and real-world proxy for economic activity –particularly for the New Zealand economy, where a large proportion of freight is moved by road. It represents an extremely timely barometer of economic momentum.
Heavy traffic is the more useful indicator in these strange times. Over Q4 as a whole the index was up 5.3%. As figure 3 (over) shows, this is consistent with our early Q4 GDP pick for a 2.5% increase (heavy traffic moves roughly twice as much as GDP). This represents a partial bounce-back from the lockdown-induced 3.7% fall in GDP in Q3.
ECONFIX 