China Macroeconomics & Academia

Christopher Balding

Macroeconomics

<p>Transportation as a whole is flat, with the exception being air travel. However, growth in air travel we believe is driven by higher income brackets, and not the spending habits of average Chinese. Highways are still the major route of transportation for the vast majority of Chinese.  Of larger concern is freight numbers. It is down across all types of transportation. The tonnage being transported mirrors this concern. We believe this decrease in freight is a harbinger of potential economic weakness.</p>

Transportation as a whole is flat, with the exception being air travel. However, growth in air travel we believe is driven by higher income brackets, and not the spending habits of average Chinese. Highways are still the major route of transportation for the vast majority of Chinese.  Of larger concern is freight numbers. It is down across all types of transportation. The tonnage being transported mirrors this concern. We believe this decrease in freight is a harbinger of potential economic weakness.

Chinese Transport Data and What It Says About the Economy