American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 2.1% in September after rising 1.7% in August. In September, the index equaled 113.2 (2015=100) compared with 115.6 in August. “After increasing a total of 2.1% in July and August, tonnage fell by that amount in September,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Freight has been very choppy this year, but despite the latest drop, tonnage is up 1.8% since hitting a low in January. No doubt, the climb up has been slow and difficult as manufacturing activity remains flat, but the trend is up, not down.” August’s increase was revised down slightly from our September 24 press release. Compared with September 2023, the index fell 0.9%, after rising 0.6% in August from a year earlier.

National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $3.222; Month Ago: $3.404; Year Ago: $3.875. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $3.593; Month Ago: $3.737; Year Ago: $4.585.

Oil prices slipped on Thursday as swelling U.S. crude inventories and record weekly U.S. production clashed with OPEC supply cuts and the potential for new U.S. sanctions against Iran. On Wednesday, a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed a 6.2-million-barrel jump in U.S. crude inventories C-STK-T-EIA. U.S. oil production rose to a record of 10.62 million bpd, putting it ahead of Saudi Arabia, the biggest OPEC producer. U.S. drilling for new production is also increasing, encouraged by rising prices following OPEC’s production curbs. Click Read More below for additional information.