Florida author Jim Boeglin tells MHProNews.com that while economists study manufacturing reports, employment numbers, building permits, consumer confidence surveys, etc., to tap into the state of the U.S. economy, he counts dump trucks. Writing in the NaplesNews, he says from 2003 to 2006 Southwest Florida was crawling with dump trucks. Some even called it the “dump truck capital of the world”. In the past five years the trucks stopped. Now, Boegln notes as he rides his bike near the Gulf Coast, the dump trucks are out in numbers once again, crowding his bike lane. He translates the heavy haulers to work being done, contracts having been let, and workers having money to spend, all signs of an improving economy. Some of these folks may even need housing!

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