Key Currency Exchange Rates for Friday, 5/21/21

UPS confirmed contract talks with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have begun on new collective bargaining agreements. The current five-year contract continues through July 31, 2018. “UPS and the union have many shared objectives and our intent is to negotiate in an environment of mutual respect,” said Al Gudim, UPS Labor Relations President. “We believe all parties recognize that taking care of our customers with reliable service is the key to maintaining a company that rewards our employees and provides excellent job security. We are in a rapidly changing industry and look forward to working together with union negotiators to strongly position UPS for the future.” Click Read More below for more of the story.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 0.7% in January after increasing 1% in December. In January, the index equaled 117.1 (2015=100) compared with 116.2 in December. ATA recently revised the seasonally adjusted index back five years as part of its annual revision. “Tonnage has increased nicely in the last couple of months,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “I suspect that some of the gain is attributable to capacity coming out of the network, especially those carriers that primarily operate in the spot market and/or bought expensive used equipment in the last couple of years. This would push more freight to contract carriers, which dominate this index. "It could also be that freight bottomed and is coming up a little too. So, the gain is likely a little higher demand and a little less supply. Despite the increases in December and January, tonnage is still off 1.4% from its recent high in September," Costello said.

National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $3.831; Month Ago: $3.529; Year Ago: $4.139. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $4.152; Month Ago: $3.843; Year Ago: $5.215.