On September 13th, Guardian reported that Berkshire Hathaway’s Chairman Warren Buffett does not expect a double dip recession. During the Montana Economic Development Summit, Buffett asserted that he sees "our businesses are coming back across the board."

This statement is interesting from a trade perspective because Buffett has holdings across many industries, including insurance, retail, manufacturing, and food. More importantly, he recently bought a large share in Burlington Northern, one of the country’s top railroads. Intermodal transportation is essential for trade flows in and out of the United States and serves as a barometer of the rest of the economy.

Rail and truck transportation are essential in the global economy for moving goods to retail stores that consumers rely on for food and household supplies. This makes the ups and downs of the transportation industry one of the best indicators of the economy as a whole. If Buffett thought that the recession would turn into a long depression, he would have never bought a major player in the one industry that relies on the viability of both the American consumer and businesses.

So is Buffet relieved that he is seeing growth now in his portfolio’s bottom lines? Likely.

One could argue that he had a good indicator from his rail business, as trade has steadily risen since its low in February of 2009. Both exports and imports have continued to grow even as other economic numbers have fluctuated and caused Wall Street to panic. If trade keeps recovering at a healthy pace, then the total economy will follow, even if it is not currently appearing to grow.