American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 1.1% in September after rising 0.2% in August. In September, the index equaled 113.9 (2015=100) compared with 115.2 in August. “After hitting a bottom in April, tonnage increased in three of the previous four months, gaining a total of 2.2% before September’s drop,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “However, this freight market remains in flux, and the index contracted by 1.1% in September, which erased half of those gains. Additionally, the year-over-year decrease was the largest drop since November 2020 on a very difficult comparison – September 2022 – which was the previous cycle high. While it is likely a bottom has been hit in truck freight tonnage, there could still be choppy waters ahead as the freight market remains volatile.”

Futures rose 0.5 percent in New York after slipping a second session Tuesday. Inventories dropped by 9.2 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report. If that is replicated in government data Wednesday, it would be the largest drop in almost a year. Output from Libya is rebounding as its biggest field boosts production and a port reopens. OPEC won’t clear the global glut any time soon since any increase in price continues to bolster rival production from U.S. shale, according to the International Energy Agency. Click Read More below for additional detail.

National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $3.627; Month Ago: $3.435; Year Ago: $4.141. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $4.147; Month Ago: $4.238; Year Ago: $5.123.