AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 12/08/2017

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.809339; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.155448; American Dollar to Euro = 1.160320; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.008746; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.048647.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 0.3% in July after declining 1.8% in June. In July, the index equaled 113.7 (2015=100) compared with 113.3 in June. “While July wasn’t a strong month, we see continued evidence that the truck freight market is likely turning a corner, albeit slowly,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Some of July’s small gain was likely due to strong import activity, especially at West Coast seaports. Decent retail sales and factory output growing slightly from a year earlier also helped truck tonnage last month.” June’s decrease was revised down from our July 23 press release. Compared with July 2023, the index decreased 0.9%. In June, the index was down 0.6% from a year earlier.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 1% in November after increasing 0.8% in October. In November, the index equaled 113.7 (2015=100) compared with 114.9 in October. “We continued to see a choppy 2023 for truck tonnage into November,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “It seems like every time freight improves, it takes a step back the following month. While year-over-year comparisons are improving, unfortunately, the freight market remains in a recession. Looking ahead, with retail inventories falling, we should see less of a headwind for retail freight, but I’m also not expecting a surge in freight levels in the coming months.” October’s gain was revised down slightly from our November 21 press release. Compared with November 2022, the SA index fell 1.2%, which was the ninth straight year-over-year decrease. In October, the index was down 2.4% from a year earlier.