AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 5/26/23

National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $4.243; Month Ago: $3.572; Year Ago: $2.870. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $5.079; Month Ago: $3.979; Year Ago: $3.103.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 4.5% in February after rising 1.8% in January. In February, the index equaled 110 (2015=100) compared with 115.2 in January. “February’s drop was exacerbated, perhaps completely caused, by the severe winter weather that impacted much of the country during the month,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Many other economic indicators were also soft in February due to the bad storms, but I continue to expect a nice climb up for the economy and truck freight as economic stimulus checks are spent and more people are vaccinated.” January’s gain was revised up slightly to 1.8% from our February 23 press release. Compared with February 2020, the SA index fell 5.9%, which was preceded by a 1.6% year-over-year decline in January. In 2020, the index was 4% below the 2019 average.

FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight will increase shipping rates beginning January 4, 2021. These rate changes enable FedEx to continue investing in service enhancement, fleet maintenance, technology innovations and other areas to serve customers more effectively and efficiently. FedEx Express shipping rates will increase by an average of 4.9% for U.S. domestic, U.S. export and U.S. import services. FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery shipping rates will increase by an average of 4.9%. FedEx SmartPost shipping rates will also increase. FedEx Freight shipping rates will increase by an average of 4.9% for customers who use FXF PZONE and FXF EZONE, and by 5.9% for customers who use FXF 1000 and FXF 501 for shipments within the U.S. (including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and between the contiguous U.S. and Canada. FedEx Freight shipping rates will also increase for shipments within Canada, within Mexico, and between the contiguous U.S. and Mexico. Details of all changes to rates, surcharges and fees are available on the FedEx website at: http://fedex.com/rates2021.