MARKETWIRE ALERTS

MARKETWIRE ALERTS 

MarketWire Afternoon News for January 15th:

Updated at 5:00 PM ET 

HEADLINES:

— BTS: Nov. Freight Shipments Up 1.2% on Month and Yr

— EIA: Weekly Petroleum Status Report Due on January 22

— PBF’s Torrance Refinery Reports Second Flare Event in 2026

— CEC: California Diesel Stocks Rise 160,000 Bbl on Week

— CEC: California Gasoline Stocks Climb 44,000 Bbl on Week

— EIA reports 71 Bcf Withdrawal From US NatGas Storage

— Analysis: EIA: Gasoline Stocks Swell to Seasonal 6-Yr High

NEWS:

BTS: Nov. Freight Shipments Up 1.2% on Month and Yr

The Freight Transportation Services Index (FTS), which is based on the amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry, rose by 1.2% on the month and year to reach 138.5 in November, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) said Wednesday (1/15).

It was the FTS’ first monthly rise after back-to-back declines of 1% and 0.6% in October and September, respectively, BTS records showed.

The monthly rise in November reflected increases in freight carried via rail carloads, pipelines and trucks while shipment through air freight, rail intermodal and water vessels decreased.

The monthly increase in November also coincided with higher readings for some indicators. While the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing index registered a 0.5% drop for the month, the Federal Reserve Board’s Industrial Production Index with subsets for manufacturing, mining and utilities rose by 0.2%.

The Passenger Transportation Services Index, meanwhile, rose by 0.3% month-over-month and by 1.4% year-over-year in November. In October, the index – which measures passenger transportation volumes on local transit, intercity rail and air transportation – advanced by 0.6% on the month and 1.6% on the year.

The Combined Freight and Passenger Index climbed by 0.9% month-over-month and by 1.2% year-over-year in November. In October, the combined index registered declines of 0.5% on the month and 0.2% on the year. BTS estimates air freight and air passenger readings one month ahead of reported data.

EIA: Weekly Petroleum Status Report Due on January 22

The Energy Information Administration’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR) will be delayed by a day next week due to the January 19 holiday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Instead of its usual Wednesday publication day, the two iterations of the WPSR will be released on Thursday next week (1/22) at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. ET, the agency said.

PBF’s Torrance Refinery Reports Second Flare Event in 2026

PBF Energy reported emergency flaring at its 166,000 bpd Torrance, California refinery that began Thursday (1/15), at 7:05 a.m. PT, according to a filing with the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

The filing did not provide an estimated end time for the flaring event. The incident was reported as “emergency flaring.”

The emergency flaring event follows ongoing planned flaring at the Torrance facility that began January 8 at 8:29 a.m. PT and is estimated to continue through Sunday, January 18, at 11:59 p.m., according to a separate South Coast AQMD filing. That flaring was attributed to a “startup/shutdown,” the filing said.

Together, the January 8 planned flaring and the January 15 emergency event represent the first two flaring incidents reported at the Torrance refinery so far this year, according to South Coast AQMD data.

CEC: California Diesel Stocks Rise 160,000 Bbl on Week

California diesel inventories climbed in the week ending January 9, driven by gains in Southern California, according to the California Energy Commission’s Weekly Fuels Report released Thursday (1/15).

Statewide CARB diesel and other diesel fuel stocks rose by 160,000 bbl to 2.787 million bbl, while remaining down 11% from last year.

Southern California diesel inventories rose by 83,000 bbl to 1.335 million bbl, but were down 30% from the previous year.

Southern CARB diesel stocks rose by 128,000 bbl to 829,000 bbl, while Southern other diesel fuel stocks fell by 45,000 bbl to 506,000 bbl.

Northern California diesel inventories increased by 77,000 bbl to 1.452 million bbl, up 19% from levels a year earlier.

CARB diesel stocks in the North climbed by 73,000 bbl to 1.013 million bbl, while Northern other diesel fuel stocks rose by 4,000 bbl to 439,000 bbl.

Statewide diesel production slipped by 79,000 bbl to 1.316 million bbl, down 25% from last year.
Southern California diesel production climbed by 37,000 bbl to 881,000 bbl, while remaining down 28% annually.

Southern CARB diesel production edged higher by 9,000 bbl to 480,000 bbl, while Southern other diesel fuel production rose by 28,000 bbl to 401,000 bbl.

Northern California diesel production tumbled by 116,000 bbl to 435,000 bbl, and was down 21% from last year.

Northern CARB diesel production plummeted by 190,000 bbl to 180,000 bbl, while output of Northern other diesel gained by 74,000 bbl to 255,000 bbl.

CEC: California Gasoline Stocks Climb 44,000 Bbl on Week

California gasoline inventories increased in the week ending January 9, supported by builds in Southern California, according to the California Energy Commission’s Weekly Fuels Report released Thursday (1/15).

Statewide gasoline stocks, including CARB reformulated, non-California, and blending components, rose by 44,000 bbl to 10.655 million bbl, though still 5% lower than last year.

Northern California gasoline inventories dropped by 319,000 bbl to 5.252 million bbl, but remained 7% above levels a year earlier.

Northern CARB reformulated gasoline stocks slipped by 37,000 bbl to 3.144 million bbl. Northern non-California gasoline stocks declined by 169,000 bbl to 169,000 bbl, while Northern blending components fell by 113,000 bbl to 1.939 million bbl.

Southern California gasoline inventories climbed by 363,000 bbl to 5.404 million bbl, but remained 15% below levels a year earlier.

Southern CARB reformulated gasoline stocks edged down by 12,000 bbl to 2.240 million bbl. Southern non-California gasoline stocks rose by 9,000 bbl to 531,000 bbl, while blending components in the same region increased by 366,000 bbl to 2.633 million bbl.

Statewide gasoline production rose by 42,000 bbl to 5.500 million bbl, down 11% annually.

Southern California gasoline production declined by 180,000 bbl to 3.366 million bbl, down 15% from last year.

Southern CARB reformulated gasoline production fell by 150,000 bbl to 3.032 million bbl, while Southern non-California gasoline production dropped by 30,000 bbl to 334,000 bbl.

Northern California gasoline production increased by 222,000 bbl to 2.134 million bbl, but remained 5% lower than last year.

Northern CARB reformulated gasoline production rose by 301,000 bbl to 1.982 million bbl, while Northern non-California gasoline production slipped by 79,000 bbl to 152,000 bbl.

EIA reports 71 Bcf Withdrawal From US NatGas Storage

Energy Information Administration data released midmorning Thursday (1/15) show a 71 billion cubic feet withdrawal from U.S. natural gas storage to 3.185 trillion cubic feet in the week ended January 9.

Natural gas in U.S. storage is 1% higher than last year and 3.4% above the five-year average of 3.079 Tcf.

Regionally, EIA reports the East registered a 33 Bcf withdrawal to 664 Bcf, 2.2% less than a year ago and 5.8% lower than the five-year average.

Natural gas in storage in the Midwest decreased 31 Bcf week-on-week to 790 Bcf, a 3.4% deficit compared to the same week a year ago and 6.2% lower than the five-year average.

Mountain region natural gas in storage decreased 5 Bcf, up 3.7% year-on-year to 32.1% above the five-year average.

South Central storage was unchanged at 1178 Bcf, 4.5% more than in the same week last year and 6.7% above the five-year average.

Analysis: EIA: Gasoline Stocks Swell to Seasonal 6-Yr High

U.S. gasoline inventory builds aren’t slowing, growing more than forecast for ten straight weeks and into winter – the season refiners recognize as the weakest for demand due to the least amount of driving that happens then.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday (1/14) another large build – 9 million barrels – in weekly gasoline stocks. At 251 million bbl, stockpiles now stand at their highest for a week since 2020.  Beyond that milestone, inventories show an expansion of 3.1% year-on-year and were 4.3% above the three-year average.

DTN’s analysis last week highlighted why gasoline inventories had been building at such an unusually fast pace. Weekly EIA data suggests that record-high driving demand failed to translate into gasoline demand growth amid the U.S. car fleet becoming less gasoline-dependent. On a four-week average, finished motor gasoline supplied, a proxy for consumption, was perfectly in line with year-ago levels. On a cumulative daily average, it was even trailing the rate observed in the corresponding week last year.

At the same time, domestic gasoline production has trended higher in the second half of the year, a byproduct of near-maximum refinery utilization due to high margins, particularly for middle distillates. A jump in U.S. gasoline exports had briefly slowed the stock building, with international demand cooling since.

If current trends prevail, stocks may peak at higher than typical levels. Despite softening margins, refiners are still processing more crude oil than a year ago, running at close to 95% of operable capacity over the past four weeks. Inventories will eventually follow seasonal patterns more closely. For now, time spreads in RBOB futures are still incentivizing storage, with the contract’s time structure in a steeper-than-usual contango for this time of year.