Tale of the tape - economy in reverse

The U.S. economy is shrinking, and it probably won't be the last quarter that the GDP numbers are in reverse gear. Here is the link. Real gross domestic product - the output of goods and services produced by labor and property in the U.S. dropped by 0.3% in the third quarter, compared with a 2.8% increase in the second quarter.

The Commerce Department said real personal consumption expenditures decreased 3.1% in the third quarter, compared with a an increase of 1.2% in the second quarter. Durable goods decreased 14.1%, compared with a 2.8% decrease in the second. Nondurable goods decreased 6.4, compared with a second quarter increase of 3.9%.

Dissecting that nondurable goods expenditure further, the Commerce Department noted that consumer expenditures on food dropped a whopping 8.6% in the third quarter, compared with a gain of 4.1% in the second quarter and a gain of 1.3% in the first quarter. By comparison, expenditures on clothing and shoes were down 11% and auto sales dropped 25%.

TK: People gotta eat, yes. But these numbers on the reduction of food purchases in the third quarter are scary; it will be revealing to see if these numbers are reflected in United's Fresh Facts third quarter retail report.....