Weekly Economic Recap
September Employment Numbers Disappoint

Today, the Department of Labor (DOL) reported that nonfarm payrolls contracted by 263,000 in September, which exceeded the consensus forecast by 100,000 jobs. September’s reduction brought the cumulative decrease since January 2008 to 7.2 million. Most major industries saw losses on the month, including total service-providing businesses (-147,000), construction (-64,000), and manufacturing (-51,000). Moreover, government employment fell by 53,000 during the one-month period. Only education and health services combined witnessed a scant increase (+3,000) in payrolls.

Click here to access the Weekly Recap.

 

 

 Fuel Line
Industry Outlook

The average U.S. pump price for on-highway diesel decreased 1.9 cents today to $2.582 per gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) weekly fuel price report, which is based on a survey of approximately 350 retail diesel outlets.  (The EIA is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Energy.)  The national average is currently 33.4% lower than at this time last year.  The average diesel price on the East Coast fell 2.1 cents to $2.586 a gallon.  The Gulf Coast region experienced the lowest average price for diesel – at $2.518 per gallon – while the West Coast reported the highest diesel average of the five main regions at $2.722 per gallon.  

Click here to access Fuel Line...

  		 

 Driver Shortage Report
  The US long-haul, heavy-duty truck transportation industry is experiencing a national shortage of 20,000 truck drivers, according to ATA's report, U.S. Truck Driver Shortage Analysis and Forecast. The Forecast, a report on the present and future of the long-haul truck driver pool, predicts the shortage of long-haul truck drivers will increase to 111,000 by 2014 if current demographic trends stay their course and if the overall labor force continues to grow at a slower pace. Article Continued...

Click here to download the full report. 		 
 



 Fuel Price Update
ATA is deeply concerned about the impact of diesel price increases on the motor carrier industry and on our national economy. In the face of continued high fuel prices, ATA is working to find solutions to this national problem by ensuring that trucking -- the backbone of the American economy -- does not break.

Click here for the Fuel Price Update.

 Related Products & Subscriptions