Which direction is the US economy headed?
Here's another sign of improvement. Industrial product maker and solid manufacturing barometer Fastenal yesterday reported a 9.6% y/y improvement in February sales.
Notably, that's not adjusted for inflation so pricing is a big part of the rise. That said, manufacturing is the one area of the economy that's widely believed to be in recession and slowing, due to the bullwhip effect. There might be some company-specifics here but overall, it's an encouraging set of numbers.
Also notable is that all the growth is coming from North America with the rest of the world flat year-over-year.
