Key Currency Exchange Rates for Friday, 10/2/20

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 3.7% in November after falling 5% in October. In November, the index equaled 112.2 (2015=100) compared with 108.3 in October. “The 2020 seesaw pattern continued in November as typical seasonality is not holding this year,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “It was a nice gain, but the rebound was not enough to make up for October’s drop. Robust retail freight, helped by consumer spending, especially e-commerce, and very lean inventories helped truck tonnage last month. Strong single-family housing starts are also aiding freight tonnage, but lackluster restaurant, manufacturing and energy sectors remain a drag. I expect these softer industries to benefit from widespread COVID-19 vaccinations in 2021.” October’s decrease was revised up to 5% from our November 24 press release.

The American Trucking Associations recognized 10 state trucking executives for their time representing the industry with Trucking Association Executives Council Service Awards. “These STA Execs, along with so many of our state trucking association executives here today, work daily in their respective state capitals and localities to promote, preserve and protect the interests of our great industry,” said TAEC National Chair Shannon Newton, president and CEO of the Arkansas Trucking Association. “Politics at the state level versus the federal level is about as different as night and day. Whereas the legislative process at the federal level tends to get totally bogged down for myriad reasons, legislative initiatives in state capitals actually move – often without warning and rather quickly. This fast-paced environment presents many unique challenges for industry advocates, and that’s not even mentioning the never-ending association management challenges we all face.”

Tronox Limited announced that, in connection with its planned acquisition of the titanium dioxide (TiO2) business of Cristal, a privately held global chemical and mining company headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the waiting period in the United States under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act expired at 11:59 p.m. EST on December 1, 2017 without further action by or communication from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Jeffry Quinn, Tronox's chief executive officer, stated: "Based on consultation with counsel, we believe that expiration of the waiting period means that we can proceed toward completion of the transaction once all closing conditions are met. However, we have not been informed that the Federal Trade Commission has formally concluded its investigation. The Commission could conceivably seek to enjoin the transaction at a later time, but we believe such action would be unprecedented and contrary to the rationale of the pre-merger notification system that is the framework of the U.S. regulatory process."