Sun Chemical to Increase Prices of Silicone-Based Products in North America

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.739913; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.145387; American Dollar to Euro = 1.062698; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.007425; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.053871.

Motor fuel prices slipped 1.2 percent on Friday, the first decline in front-month futures in almost two weeks, after a 25 percent gain in August. Crude in New York extended declines following the worst month since March. About 4.4 million barrels a day of U.S. refining capacity remains shuttered. The government plans to supply 1 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to a Gulf Coast plant, the first emergency release in five years. Hurricane Harvey cut U.S. refining capacity to the lowest level since 2008 after its initial strike on the Texas coast late last week. It returned as a storm to hit Louisiana on Wednesday, bringing torrential rains that shut the biggest U.S. refinery, owned by Motiva Enterprises LLC in Port Arthur, Texas. The lack of production forced Colonial Pipeline Co. to curb flows to a link that carries fuels to the Northeast. Valero Energy Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc told wholesale customers Wednesday they don’t have enough gasoline and diesel to sell. Click Read More below for additional detail.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 0.5% in August after falling 1.1% in July. In August, the index equaled 110.3 (2015=100) compared with 109.8 in July. “August’s monthly gain, while small, was the first since March,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “It is important to remember that ATA’s tonnage data is dominated by for-hire contract freight, with a very limited amount of spot market freight. I continue to believe that tonnage has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels for two main reasons - broader supply chain issues, like semiconductor shortages, as well as industry specific difficulties, including the driver shortage and lack of equipment. “Despite some supply chain issues, demand remains strong for trucking services generally. Truckload carriers are operating fewer trucks than a year earlier, which makes it difficult to increase freight volumes significantly,” he said.