Key Currency Exchange Rates for Friday, 10/6/23

National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $2.866; Month Ago: $2.699; Year Ago: $2.69. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $3.101; Month Ago: $2.908; Year Ago: $2.639

As contract talks drag on, tensions are rising at West Coast ports. Following a shutdown at the Ports of Oakland and Long Beach, which combine to form the country’s largest cargo complex, over the weekend, the National Retail Federation called on the Biden Administration to intervene. (At least one terminal at the Port of Long Beach shut Monday, according to reports.) The new disruptions come as the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association have failed to reach and ratify a new labor agreement following more than a year of negotiations.

The trucking industry applauded the Senate’s passage of the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) of 2023, which would reauthorize the DERA program through fiscal year 2029 at $100 million annually. The bill will now be considered by the House of Representatives. DERA provides federal grants and rebates to help finance the voluntary replacement or retrofits of heavy-duty diesel vehicles and engines. By helping to upgrade tens of thousands of vehicles over nearly two decades, DERA is responsible for saving more than 520 million gallons of fuel. Replacing older vehicles is critical to protecting the environment because advancements in clean diesel engine technology have resulted in substantially lower emissions. In fact, it would take 60 of today’s trucks to emit what just one truck did in 1988. A newly manufactured truck produces half the CO2 emissions of one manufactured in 2010.