National Average Price for Regular – Current: $2.904; Month Ago: $2.879; Year Ago: $2.318. National Average Price for Diesel – Current: $3.191; Month Ago: $3.140; Year Ago: $2.485.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 1.3% in November after rising 0.4% in October. In November, the index equaled 114.5 (2015=100) compared with 113 in October. “November’s gain was the fourth straight, totaling 4.3%, and the tonnage level was the highest since April,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “The recent streak is very good, but it should be noted that from April through July the index fell a total of 4.6%, so we are not quite back to where we were last spring. "With that said, the index saw the largest gain from a year earlier since May. In November, strong factory output and housing starts helped push the index higher," he said.

Last month, U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced a $7.89 Million grant for a project to improve rail infrastructure in Northeastern Maine. NBM Rail Services has been awarded the contract to repair and upgrade 22 rail bridges on the Madawaska Subdivision of the Maine Northern Railway. Fourteen bridges will require minor repairs, three bridges require superstructure replacements, and one bridge will be replaced completely. The funding, through the FASTLANE grant program, will help create jobs, improve competitiveness and provide an economic boost for the State of Maine. Following project completion, the 151-mile section will be capable of carrying 286,000 pounds of rail car weight. “This major rail link is used daily by manufacturers and customers across our state, and these improvements will significantly increase capacity and efficiency throughout the corridor,” said Senator Collins, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee. Click Read More below for additional detail.