[alexamenos]

I think the guy is talking about the "real economy" (not corporate accounting) when he says that earnings have not improved.

As he notes, manufacturing capacity utilization is under 70%, rail car loading is down 20% from a year ago, and (as he doesn't note) corrugated box manufacturing is down 10% from a year ago (and still falling). Any time we make anything it gets shipped somewhere and/or put in a box. When these sort of things are down the economy is down, way down, and there aren't any real indications that things are coming back up (there is hope, perhaps, but that will change I'm afraid).