AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 2/4/22

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 3.5% in January after increasing 1.2% in December. In January, the index equaled 111.0 (2015=100) compared with 115.0 in December. ATA recently revised the seasonally adjusted index back five years as part of its annual revision. “January’s data was a snap back to reality for anyone thinking the freight market was about to turn the corner,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Bad winter weather in January likely hurt volumes, not to mention sharp drops in a number of drivers of tonnage including retail sales, housing starts and manufacturing output.” December’s increase was revised down from our January 23 press release. Compared with January 2023, the SA index fell 4.7%, which was the eleventh straight year-over-year decrease. In December, the index was down 0.8% from a year earlier.

Futures fell 0.3 percent in New York after Friday’s 0.5 percent gain. Libya’s biggest oil field cut output by more than 30 percent, a person familiar with the matter said Sunday, while the head of a union said loadings at Zueitina ceased after employees demanded better working conditions. In the U.S., drillers added three crude rigs last week, according to Baker Hughes Inc. In Libya, the Sharara field’s output has dropped to 200,000 barrels a day, the person familiar said. “After months of boosting oil production, Libya currently seems to be experiencing output disruptions,” said Michael Poulsen, an analyst at Global Risk Management Ltd. Click Read More below for more of the story.

Union leaders have cut off negotiations for a new contract for port workers on the East and Gulf Coasts over automation concerns, a development that comes with less than two months to go before the docksiders say they’ll again strike if a fresh six-year deal for them isn’t inked. It’s a notable development for the promotional products market, which imports the vast majority of products it sells in North America on ships that bring goods from Asia and other parts of the world. A lengthy strike on the East and Gulf Coasts could seriously snarl the supply chain of the promo products industry and other sectors.