AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 5/28/21

Representatives of unionized dockworkers this week unanimously supported leadership calls for a strike at U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports if a new contract with employers isn’t reached by Oct. 1. Nearly 300 International Longshoremen’s Association delegates concluded two days of meetings in New Jersey by unanimously supporting International President Harold J. Daggett’s call for a coastwide strike at ports from Maine to Texas on Oct. 1 if a new Master Contract with United States Maritime Alliance employers to replace the current six-year pact is not reached by that time.

National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $3.293; Month Ago: $3.403; Year Ago: $2.247. National Average Price for Diesel Current: $3.578; Month Ago: $3.642; Year Ago: $2.541.

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.