Plus: Positive Economic Signs, Health Insurance Costs, Retail Container Volume, Packaging Machinery and MORE.

Health Insurance Costs Rising Faster than Inflation
President Barack Obama took to the airwaves over the weekend, appearing in interviews on five networks to talk about health care. The New York Times says the “Sunday Morning Obamathon” had “Five Interviewers, One Message.”

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The Los Angeles Times notes that the president’s media blitz “marked yet another effort” to explain to a divided American public “why he is trying to remake the health care system.” Indeed, the media venture came as Congress considered health reforms building on the existing employment-based system and only days after new survey findings reported that health insurance costs rose in 2009.

According to the benchmark 2009 Employer Health Benefits Survey, released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust last week, premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose to $13,375 annually for family coverage this year — with employees on average paying $3,515 and employers paying $9,860. Family premiums jumped about 5 percent this year, which is much more than general inflation.

Since 1999, the report notes, premiums have gone up 131 percent in total, far more than workers’ wages or inflation.

Among insured workers at large firms, 13 percent now face deductibles at or above $1,000, while 40 percent of small-business employees enrolled in individual health plans pay annual deductibles of $1,000 or more (including 16 percent with deductibles at or above $2,000).

“The key findings from the 2009 survey, conducted from January through May 2009, provide a mixed, but relatively stable story compared to 2008,” the summary of findings states. “In 2009, there was an increase in the average family premium, the percentage of covered workers with a deductible of $1,000 or more for single coverage, office visit co-payments, and the percentage of large firms offering wellness programs. The average premium for single coverage did not significantly increase, breaking a long-standing trend.”

Leading Economic Indicators Show Positive Signs
In The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index, released today, composite economic indicators rose by 0.6 percent in August, following a gain of 0.9 percent in July and 0.8 percent in June. This marks the fifth consecutive month of growth following a 20-month decline that began in July 2007.

“The LEI has risen for five consecutive months and the coincident economic index has stopped falling. Taken together, this suggests that the recession is bottoming out,” Ken Goldstein, an economist at The Conference Board, said in an announcement of the findings.

Housing data also improved in August, with privately owned housing starts rising 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 598,000 and the number of building permits issued increasing by 2.7 percent, according to a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Meanwhile, new data from the Federal Reserve indicate that industrial production increased 0.8 percent in August, with manufacturing output gaining 0.6 percent, mining production 0.5 percent and utilities 1.9 percent. However, total industrial output was still 10.7 percent below the level of a year ago, and the August capacity utilization rate was 11.3 percentage points lower than the average between 1972 and 2008.

Seasonally adjusted weekly jobless claims fell by 12,000 for the week ending September 12, bringing the number of initial claims down to 545,000, according to the Department of Labor.

Finally, the Department of Commerce announced that retail trade and food services sales rose 2.7 percent in August, largely due to an increase of 10.6 percent in auto sales motivated by the “cash for clunkers” program, which ended on August 24. Excluding vehicle sales, retail sales rose by 1.1 percent, exceeding earlier projections from economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

Despite certain positive signs, these changes in economic indicators are not stable enough to guarantee a major upswing. As Goldstein stated, “These numbers are consistent with the view that after a very severe downturn, a recovery is very near. But the intensity and pattern of that recovery is more uncertain.”

EU Emerging from Recession
The European Union (EU) last week said that the recession in the Eurozone and EU “will likely have ended in the third quarter with the resumption of modest economic growth,” the Associated Press reports.

“The underlying message is that signs for an economic recovery are apparent,” the European Commission stated in an update to its May forecast. The AP notes that both France and Germany “pulled out of recession in the second quarter as their economies returned to growth,” and that the EU sees both countries growing in the third and fourth quarters.

According to a separate AP report, the Bank of England’s governor said “the British economy is slowly emerging from its deepest recession since World War II but that inflation, which fell in August to a near five-year low, was unlikely to be a problem any time soon.”

However, the European Commission also exhibited uncertainty about the upswing, saying it won’t change its prediction for the Eurozone and EU economies to shrink by 4 percent this year because economic activity at the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009 was worse than initially estimated. “While the recovery may surprise on the upside in the very short term, how sustainable it will be remains to be seen,” the Commission said. “The situation has improved … but the weak economy will continue to take its toll on jobs and public finances.”

The EU report came shortly after the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s July composite leading indicators index, which rose 1.9 points for the Eurozone.

White House Unveils Fuel Efficiency Plan
The Obama administration last week unveiled its plan to require better gas mileage for cars and trucks and the first-ever rules on vehicle greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson announced the proposed regulations at the White House in a follow-up to an announcement in May that the government regulations would link emissions and fuel economy standards.

The program, which covers model years 2012 through 2016, is meant to: increase fuel economy by approximately five percent every year; reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 950 million metric tons; save the average car buyer more than $3,000 in fuel costs; and conserve 1.8 billion barrels of oil.

The proposal requires that new-vehicle fleets average 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. “The new rule effectively brings U.S. auto emissions limits into line with California’s tough air pollution requirements, resolving a dispute over whether California could go its own way,” the Christian Science Monitor reports. “That led to a Bush administration decision last year that limited the state’s ability to regulate auto emissions, but has been now reversed.”

“The requirements could raise new-vehicle prices by as little as $476 per vehicle in 2012 to as much as $1,091 per vehicle in 2016,” the Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) based on Transportation Department analysis. “The administration said the new standards would help Americans save an estimated $3,000 over the lifetime of a 2016 model-year car through better gas mileage.”

A survey by the Consumer Federation of America earlier this year showed that Americans want more fuel-efficient automobiles.

See How an Executive Order Could Transform the Auto Industry

U.S. Retail Container Volume Declines
Total imported cargo volume at the country’s major retail ports is expected to reach 12.3 million in 2009, a decrease of 18.8 percent from the previous year and the lowest container volume level since 2002, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).

The volumes for July, August and September 2009 are estimated to be 20 percent lower than the same period in 2008, while October volume, the traditional peak of the year, is forecast to drop 18 percent compared to the 2008 level. November volume is expected to decrease 15 percent over the previous year, while December will drop 3.8 percent.

“Numbers are down significantly, but the good news is that we’re expecting to move from double-digit declines into the single digits by the end of the year. That’s some light at the end of the tunnel that we’re really looking forward to seeing,” Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy at the NRF, said in an announcement of the findings.

Packaging Machinery Exports Up, Shipments Down
Exports for U.S. packaging machinery grew by 8.6 percent in 2008, reaching $1.2 billion, while imports gained 1.2 percent, rising to $1.7 billion, according to an annual report published last week by the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI).

However, these gains were partially offset by the 0.4 percent decline in total shipments for packaging machinery, the first decrease in seven years, according to the findings. Domestic sales of packaging machinery also fell by 2.5 percent, dropping to $4.68 billion. Domestic shipments and imports decreased 1.2 percent in 2008, hitting $6.42 billion and signaling a decrease in overall domestic demand for packaging equipment.

“2008 was a tough year for many PMMI members, but the good news is, the economy seems to be showing signs of improvement, and market trends such as sustainability, the increase in private label packaging, and a considerable focus on safety are providing new opportunities for sales growth,” Charles D. Yuska, the president and CEO of PMMI, said in an announcement of the findings.