Why the US economy usually stinks at the beginning of the year

Gross domestic product — the headline metric on the economy’s output — increased by just 0.7 percent in the first quarter, according to the Department of Commerce. Growth hasn’t been that sluggish since the first quarter of 2014 when it actually shrank.

But every first quarter report in the post-financial-crisis economic recovery has been weak. In fact, GDP has averaged a 0.6 percent annualized rate since 2013, despite trend growth rate of 2 percent to 2.5 percent over that same period, according to Jim Baird, the chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors.