American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 1% in December after rising 0.5% in November. In December, the index equaled 114.7 (2015=100) compared with 113.5 in November. “December’s gain was the fifth straight totaling 4.4%,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “In December, tonnage reached the highest level since March, but it was still 2.7% below the pre-pandemic high. This is likely due to the fact ATA’s data is dominated by contract freight. Contractor truckload carriers operated fewer trucks in 2021 compared with 2020 and it is difficult to haul significantly more tonnage with fewer trucks. But overall, we have seen a nice trend up that is reflective of a still growing goods-economy.” November’s reading was revised down from our December 21 press release.

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.735112; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.144050; American Dollar to Euro = 1.056709; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.007366; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.054148.

Short term, oil-pricing volatility will continue. Traders will likely consider any forward interruption – perceived or actual – in Iranian crude export flow as upward pressure on global prices. If this happens and JCPOA is not immediately closed, (i.e., should those second and third possible scenarios I mentioned play out), there will be a pullback. Overall, other factors have been contributing to an increasing floor for the oil-pricing band, supported by continuing OPEC production problems in Venezuela, Nigeria, and Libya. Click Read More below for additional information.