Diesel: It’s in the price of everything.

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.

California rang in the new year by delaying enforcement of its "Advanced Clean Fleets" Regulation, which requires trucking companies operating in the state to purchase an increasing percentage of electric trucks in the coming years. While enforcement was slated to begin this week, officials at the California Air Resources Board agreed to pause the registration and compliance requirements until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grants the regulation a green light to proceed. It's an inauspicious start for a program that's on a clear collision course with reality. Reporting from the Wall Street Journal validates what ATA has been telling lawmakers for many months: the charging infrastructure, power generation and transmission, product performance, and operational parity required for such a policy to succeed are nowhere near ready. The WSJ report illustrates how even drayage operators—those who run short-haul routes to and from ports and other intermodal facilities—are struggling to charge their equipment and maintain deliveries on time.

“Prices are being driven up by tight supply due to high production outages in Venezuela plus the cuts implemented by OPEC and Russia,” said Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank. “What is more, demand appears robust.” The United States has until May 12 to decide whether to quit a nuclear deal with Iran and reimpose sanctions against the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, tightening global supplies. OPEC’s supply curtailments and the threat of new sanctions are occurring as demand in Asia, the biggest oil-consuming region, has risen to a record. Click Read More below for additional information.