National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $2.181; Month Ago: $2.180; Year Ago: $2.693. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $2.429; Month Ago: $2.438; Year Ago: $2.980.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 0.5% in May after falling 1.4% in April. In May, the index equaled 117.1 (2015=100) versus 116.5 in April. “The transition in the freight market continued in May with the index hitting the second highest level since the pandemic started. Specifically on the market transition, ATA’s tonnage index is dominated by contract freight. The traditional spot market has slowed as freight softens, but these contract carriers are backfilling any losses in freight with loads from shippers that is reducing spot market exposure,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Essentially the market is transitioning back to pre-pandemic shares of contract versus spot market. “Overall, economic indicators that are important to trucking slowed in May, including retail sales, housing starts, and manufacturing output,” he said. Compared with May 2021, the SA index increased 3.7%, which was the ninth straight year-over-year gain and the largest since April 2021. In April, the index was up 2.5% from a year earlier. In 2022, year-to-date and compared with same period in 2021, tonnage was up 2.7%.

Oil dipped slightly last week on a weaker demand outlook while Russia cast doubts on the timing of a decision to extend supply cuts led by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Wagers on lower Brent prices rose by the most since June through the week to Nov. 14 amid uncertainty over Saudi Arabia’s push to prolong output curbs. Yet an extension remains likely, according to PVM Oil Associates Ltd. “It is widely believed that OPEC, together with 10 non-OPEC countries, will roll over their production for the whole of 2018,” said Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM in London. Click Read More below for additional information.