AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 2/21/25

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.799835; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.154082; American Dollar to Euro = 1.205341; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.008831; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.051581.

Oil rose on Tuesday, holding above $70 a barrel for a third day, supported by concerns that tensions in the Middle East could lead to supply disruptions, although with global output rising fast, investors remained cautious. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 28 cents on the day at$70.40 a barrel by 0848 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were up 19 cents at $65.74 a barrel. The oil price has risen by more than 7 percent so far this month and by 5.3 percent in the first three months of the year, putting it on track for a third consecutive quarterly gain, something the market has not witnessed since late 2010.

A shortage of truck drivers is a big part of the country’s supply chain problems. The trucking industry is short 80,000 drivers, an all-time high for the industry, according to the American Trucking Associations. The shortage, which existed pre-pandemic but has grown worse since then, comes at a critical time in the retail supply chain cycle, with U.S. ports backlogged just before the start of the holiday shopping season. Truck drivers move 71% of the US economy's goods,. “Since we last released an estimate of the shortage, there has been tremendous pressure on the driver pool,” said Bob Costello, chief economist, ATA. “Increased demand for freight, pandemic-related challenges from early retirements, closed driving schools and DMVs, and other pressures are really pushing up demand for drives and subsequently the shortage." The outlook for the next few years doesn’t offer much hope. Based on driver demographic trends, including gender and age, as well as expected freight growth the shortage could surpass 160,000 in 2030.