AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 10/14/22

National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $4.432; Month Ago: $4.083; Year Ago: $3.028. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $5.560; Month Ago: $5.019; Year Ago: $3.150.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 1.2% in February after increasing 0.6% in January. In February, the index equaled 118.4 (2015=100) compared with 117 in January. “Tonnage has increased sequentially for the last three months totaling 2.9 percent,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “As a result, the index is just 0.3 percent below the recent high in September. The fact that our index is growing sequentially and on a year-over-year basis demonstrates that contract freight continues to hold up at high levels. “Looking ahead, we continue to see evidence the inventory cycle is improving, which means bloated stocks will stop being a headwind and eventually help truck freight volumes,” Costello said. “Increased infrastructure spending will also boost volumes heading into the summer months. However, we expect to see continued freight softness related to lower home construction and slowing factory output.” Compared with February 2022, the SA index increased 2.3%, which was the eighteenth straight year-over-year gain, but the largest since October. In January, the index was up 1.4% from a year earlier. In 2022, compared with the average in 2021, tonnage was up 3.5%.

SCA's electric timber truck continues to transport timber between Gimonäs timber terminal and Obbola paper mill outside Umeå. It has now been in operation for over 1.5 years. – Everything is working as intended, and we receive inquiries from haulage companies and others who want to learn more about heavy electric vehicle transport, says Mikael Sundelin, Head of Business Development at Industrial Supply. Since SCA's unique electric timber truck was put into operation in June 2022, it has covered a distance of 4,600 kilometers, equivalent to more than one lap around the globe. Over a year of operation, the electric timber truck contributes to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 55,000 kg per year. With a capacity to carry 80 tons, the electric timber truck's daily task is to transport timber between Gimonäs timber terminal and Obbola paper mill outside Umeå. The round trip covers a distance of 30 km, and it completes approximately six rounds per day. The truck needs to be charged about two times during a working day.