THE Cass Freight Index that measures US freight shipments declined in May on a month-to-month basis for the first time since January following slight increases over the past three months.

    "The economy is in a stall, and what remains to be seen is the extent," Cass said in releasing the figures. "The economy began to weaken after the impacts of the federal stimulus diminished, and contraction in the public sector has removed jobs and funds that went into the private sector. Manufacturers have responded to declining demand by slowing production and laying off workers."

    Showing the slowest year-on-year gains, the index in May was 9.6 per cent ahead year on year, reported Newark's Journal of Commerce. The increase comes as a broad array of government and private industry figures show the economic recovery is hitting what observers call a "slow patch", with factory orders and rail commodity carloads flat or in decline.

    American shippers are paying more to move goods, Cass said, with the expenditures index in May up 29.9 per cent over last year, and 1.7 per cent ahead of the April figure.

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