Trucking activity in the United States rose 0.3% in March after surging 2.9% in February, according to the American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.  “While March wasn’t particularly strong sequentially, it was the largest year-over-year increase since October 2022,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “The first quarter of 2026 was also the best performance since the third quarter of 2017 when considering both sequential and year-over-year results.”

Futures in New York are up 1.5 percent this week after closing at the highest level in two weeks on Thursday. While the U.S. is pumping near record volumes, exports also jumped to a four-month high last week, helping drain the nation’s stockpiles. Oil stocks in the biggest U.S. storage hub plunged to the lowest level in more than three years. While crude struggled after the best January performance in more than a decade, it’s now finding its footing again as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia pledge to persist with output curbs to re-balance the market, and demand remains robust. Click Read More below for additional information.