AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 8/27/21

In our modern world, eliminating plastics is inconceivable. Unfortunately, they do have disadvantages, including the formation of CO2 in both production and combustion, depletion of fossil feedstocks, and growth of landfills. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, Russian researchers introduce a new way forward, a polymer made entirely from biomass that can easily and inexpensively be used in 3D printing. Objects produced in this way are of high quality, easily recyclable, and highly solvent-resistant. Conventional “subtractive” processes involve cutting, sawing, turning, or milling, which results in a great deal of wasted material. In contrast, 3D printing processes are, in principle, waste-free, because they are “additive”: three-dimensional objects are produced in a layer-by-layer application of material. The most common technique is called fused deposition modeling (FDM). In this process, the raw material is squirted through a hot nozzle onto a mobile base and thereby liquefied (extrusion). The printer head produces the programmed form like in a conventional two-dimensional printing process, releasing small amounts of the polymer instead of ink. This is repeated for layer after layer until the desired three-dimensional object is complete. Yet, the polymers used until now have a number of disadvantages that limit their use. Some of the polymers are attacked by organic solvents. Those that withstand the solvents, on the other hand, adhere poorly and shrink on heating, allowing their layers to come apart and causing errors in the printing process. Click Read More below for additional information.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 3.6% in May after decreasing 1% in April. In May, the index equaled 115.9 (2015=100) compared with 111.9 in April. “May was the first month since February 2023 that tonnage increased both sequentially and from a year earlier,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “While there was clearly an increase in freight before the Memorial Day holiday, it is still too early to say whether this is the start of a long-awaited recovery in the truck freight market.” April’s decrease was revised up slightly from our May 21 press release. Compared with May 2023, the index rose 1.5%, the first year-over-year gain in fifteen months. In April, the index was down 1.3% from a year earlier.

Futures were little changed in New York and are up 4.8 percent this month, after rallying 9.4 percent in September. U.S. crude inventories probably declined for a fifth time in six weeks, according to a Bloomberg survey before government data due Wednesday. Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said last week that he backed prolonging supply curbs, following a similar endorsement by Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month. Global benchmark Brent crude this month topped $60 a barrel for the first time since 2015 on hopes the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and partners including Russia will prolong their curbs aimed at eliminating a glut. Prices were also boosted by fighting between Iraqi government troops and Kurdish forces in the oil-rich Kirkuk region. Still, the potential for continued supplies from U.S. shale fields is a concern. Click Read More below for additional information.