National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $3.584; Month Ago: $3.543; Year Ago: $4.940. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $3.898; Month Ago: $3.987; Year Ago: $5.808.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.4% in September after rising 0.3% in August. In September, the index equaled 112.9 (2015=100) compared with 110.2 in August. “September’s sequential gain was the largest in 2021,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “It is good that tonnage rose in September, but it is important to note that this is happening because each truck is hauling more, not from an increase in the amount of equipment operated as contract carriers in the for-hire truckload market continue to shrink from the lack of new trucks and drivers. “The drivers of truck freight, including retail, construction, and manufacturing, plus a surge in imports, are helping keep demand high for trucking services,” he said.

The effects of the Iran war are being felt across the global supply chain, as container rates rise sharply on vital headhaul trade routes including to the United States, an analyst said.  “Five weeks into the Strait of Hormuz closure and spot rates on every major east-west trade lane have risen sharply, showing this is a conflict with global repercussions for ocean supply chains,” said Peter Sand, Xeneta chief analyst. “No shipper is insulated from financial or operational risk. Far East to U.S. West Coast – a trade which transits the Pacific thousands of miles from the epicenter of conflict – has seen spot rates climb 29% since the end of February.”