AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 7/15/22

National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $3.044; Month Ago: $2.885; Year Ago: $1.968. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $3.181; Month Ago: $3.078; Year Ago: $2.413.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.4% in March after rising 0.7% in February. In March, the index equaled 118.8 (2015=100) versus 116.1 in February. “It is important to note that ATA’s for-hire tonnage data is dominated by contract freight with minimal amounts of spot market loads,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “And clearly contract freight was solid in March, witnessing the largest sequential gain since May 2020. March was also the eighth straight month-to-month improvement, with a total increase of 7.4% over that period. “During the first quarter, the index rose 2.4% from the final quarter of 2021 and increased 2.6% from a year earlier. While there might be some recent softness in the spot market, for-hire contract freight tonnage remains solid and is only limited by lack of capacity—both drivers and equipment—at contract fleets.”

Despite technology’s prominence in the 21st century, when it comes to education and productivity, students and parents still prefer the oldest technology, paper. In fact, the clear majority of parents (96 percent) feel that paper is essential to learning. The recently released, Paper and Productive Learning: The Third Annual Back-to-School Report from the Paper and Packaging Board (P+PB), reveals that 93 percent of college students and 87 percent of 7-12 grade students believe that paper is an essential part of being able to achieve their educational goals.