Key Currency Exchange Rates for Friday, 1/19/24

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 1% in November after increasing 0.8% in October. In November, the index equaled 113.7 (2015=100) compared with 114.9 in October. “We continued to see a choppy 2023 for truck tonnage into November,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “It seems like every time freight improves, it takes a step back the following month. While year-over-year comparisons are improving, unfortunately, the freight market remains in a recession. Looking ahead, with retail inventories falling, we should see less of a headwind for retail freight, but I’m also not expecting a surge in freight levels in the coming months.” October’s gain was revised down slightly from our November 21 press release. Compared with November 2022, the SA index fell 1.2%, which was the ninth straight year-over-year decrease. In October, the index was down 2.4% from a year earlier.

Six companies bought 14 million barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve in a sale required by law to help fund medical research and the federal government, said the Department of Energy on Thursday. BP Oil Supply, Exxon Mobil Corp, Phillips 66, Shell Trading, Valero Marketing and Supply Company, and Macquarie Commodities Trading bought oil from the reserve, which is held in salt caverns on the Texas and Louisiana coasts. The companies bought the oil at a range from $46.98 to $47.91 a barrel, slightly below the current futures price of about $49.70 per barrel, depending on which location the crude came from and whether it was sent by pipeline or directly to vessels, which could export the petroleum.

The global toilet-paper market was valued at US$41.04 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach US$42.88 billion this year, further expanding to US$46.83 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 4.5% from 2025 to 2033, says a new study via Business Research Insights. Toilet paper is a key part of the hygiene and personal-care market, mostly because people use it every day, and there is growing attention on the need for sanitation. Strong retail services and a desire to use premium, environmentally sustainable and thicker papers give North America and Europe dominance in this market. At the same time, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Africa are showing steady growth because of cities becoming bigger, living standards increasing. New methods for sustainable manufacturing such as using bamboo for toilet paper and other recycled-paper options, are growing in popularity due to people’s concern for the environment.