AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 3/29/24

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.793222 American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.148758 American Dollar to Euro = 1.183841 American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.009043 American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.056105

FedEx Corp. announced that it has acquired RouteSmart Technologies, a global leader in route optimization solutions with over 40 years of expertise, providing mission-critical technology to newspaper, postal & parcel, public works, utilities & field service, and waste collection organizations worldwide. The combination of RouteSmart’s leading technology solutions with FedEx’s unparalleled physical and data networks will enable the world’s largest express transportation provider to further drive efficiency across its own global operations, while also strengthening the company’s suite of technology solutions. “This is yet another step on our journey to make supply chains smarter for everyone as we revolutionize logistics,” said Raj Subramaniam, president and chief executive officer, FedEx Corporation. “Our physical network generates terabytes of data that contain invaluable insights about the global supply chain. Through this acquisition, we will use RouteSmart’s expertise and proven technology platform to accelerate the deployment of a common route optimization capability for FedEx operations that will enable our team members to work safer and smarter as they deliver superior service to our customers.”

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 0.6% in January after increasing 0.9% in December. In January, the index equaled 115.5 (2015=100) compared with 114.9 in December. ATA recently revised the seasonally adjusted index back five years as part of its annual revision. “January’s gain was the sixth straight totaling 4.4%,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “The index, which is dominated by contract freight with only small amounts of spot market truck freight, is off 3.9% from the all-time high in August 2019 and only 1.5% below March 2020 when the pandemic hit. In January, truck tonnage was helped by rising retail sales and factory output. While housing starts fell last month, which is another important driver of truck tonnage, it remained at high levels.”