Key Currency Exchange Rates for Friday, 11/20/20

National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $3.627; Month Ago: $3.435; Year Ago: $4.141. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $4.147; Month Ago: $4.238; Year Ago: $5.123.

The annualized turnover rate at both large and small truckload carriers rose by double digit percentage points in the third quarter as the industry began bouncing back from a COVID-19 induced slump. “After a calamitous second quarter, trucking – along with the rest of the economy – began recovering in the third quarter, leading to a tightening of the driver market,” said American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello. “With a more robust freight market, we saw an increase in carriers seeking drivers, which led to increased turnover. Additionally, the driver pool has decreased this year for a host of reasons, including fewer new drivers coming into the industry as truck driver training schools train less drivers due to social distancing requirements.” In the third quarter, the turnover rate at truckload carriers with more than $30 million in annual revenue rose 10 percentage points to 92% on an annualized basis. The rate at smaller truckload carriers rose 14 points to 74%. Despite the increases, the 2020 average turnover rate is still running behind 2019.

West Texas Intermediate futures added 0.4 percent. Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi said there’s support in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to deepen output curbs by about 1 percent. Still, Iraq has failed to deliver the supply cuts it committed to under the current agreement. U.S. refiners are delaying scheduled maintenance as they resume operations after Hurricane Harvey, supporting demand for crude. Iraq’s suggestion “has a minor influence on prices -- if it would have come from Saudi Arabia, it would probably have had a bigger impact,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS Group AG in Zurich. Click Read More below for more of the story.