National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $3.050; Month Ago: $3.066; Year Ago: $3.097. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $3.510; Month Ago: $3.543; Year Ago: $4.025.

Canada’s freight rail network could come to a grinding halt this week, inflicting a huge economic toll after the country’s two largest railroad operators on Sunday issued lockout notices to the Teamsters union that represents nearly 10,000 workers. Failing last-minute deals, both Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City plan to lock out workers from the early hours of Thursday. It marks the first time that the country has faced a simultaneous labor stoppage at the railroad firms as they normally negotiate their labor agreements in alternate years. The stoppages could cripple the shipment of food grains, beans, potash, coal and timber which form a large part of Canada’s exports, while also impacting shipments ranging from petroleum products to chemicals and cars.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 3.5% in January after increasing 1.2% in December. In January, the index equaled 111.0 (2015=100) compared with 115.0 in December. ATA recently revised the seasonally adjusted index back five years as part of its annual revision. “January’s data was a snap back to reality for anyone thinking the freight market was about to turn the corner,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Bad winter weather in January likely hurt volumes, not to mention sharp drops in a number of drivers of tonnage including retail sales, housing starts and manufacturing output.” December’s increase was revised down from our January 23 press release. Compared with January 2023, the SA index fell 4.7%, which was the eleventh straight year-over-year decrease. In December, the index was down 0.8% from a year earlier.