Trucking activity in the United States increased again in August, pushing the level up to the highest point since December 2023. Specifically, truck freight tonnage rose 0.9% after gaining 1.1% in July, according to the American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.  “The good news is that truck freight volumes had a nice end of the summer,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “However, while I’d like to predict a strong rebound in freight levels through the upcoming holidays, I can’t. I believe traditional seasonal patterns are off this year as shippers adjust to tariffs. Plus, housing remains soft, the slowing labor market is likely to show up in consumer spending at some point, and most manufacturing metrics are either decelerating or declining.” Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 72.7% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 11.27 billion tons of freight in 2024.*  Motor carriers collected $906 billion, or 76.9% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.

Futures were little changed in New York after rising 8.3 percent the previous seven sessions. U.S. drillers targeting crude reduced the number of active rigs for the first time in 24 weeks, according to Baker Hughes Inc. data on Friday. Libya’s oil production climbed to more than 1 million barrels a day for the first time in four years, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation. While prices surged last week, oil in New York and London still posted a monthly loss in June after tumbling into a bear market on concerns that rising global supply will counter cuts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners. There are signs of a slowdown in the U.S., but Libya is adding more oil to the market as it restarts fields that are exempt from OPEC’s production curbs. Click Read More below for more of the story.

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.800895; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.151079; American Dollar to Euro = 1.181784; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.008840; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.052958.