AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 7/28/23

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.788990; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.150565; American Dollar to Euro = 1.164367; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.008819; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.052392.

“After a scant 0.1% decline in January, which wasn’t bad considering the harsh winter weather and California wildfires, truck tonnage had a robust gain in February” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “This outcome fits well with our growing optimism for the truck freight market after a two-year recession. Some of the gain in February was due to accelerated imports early in the year as shippers rushed to bring products into the U.S. before tariffs hit. Even accounting for this, the first two months of the year were positive, all things considered, indicating that the freight recovery has indeed begun.” In February, the ATA advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 115.2, up from 111.9 in January. The index, which is based on 2015 as 100, was up 0.6% from the same month last year, the second straight year-over-year increase, which hasn’t happened since early 2023. The not seasonally adjusted index, which calculates raw changes in tonnage hauled, equaled 104.8 in February, 4.7% below January’s reading of 110.0.

The American Trucking Associations recognized 10 state trucking executives for their time representing the industry with Trucking Association Executives Council Service Awards. “These STA Execs, along with so many of our state trucking association executives here today, work daily in their respective state capitals and localities to promote, preserve and protect the interests of our great industry,” said TAEC National Chair Shannon Newton, president and CEO of the Arkansas Trucking Association. “Politics at the state level versus the federal level is about as different as night and day. Whereas the legislative process at the federal level tends to get totally bogged down for myriad reasons, legislative initiatives in state capitals actually move – often without warning and rather quickly. This fast-paced environment presents many unique challenges for industry advocates, and that’s not even mentioning the never-ending association management challenges we all face.”