Anybody hear about the Diesel fuel shortage coming? [LOCKED AND WARNINGS GIVEN DUE TO POLITICS]

[ShadowsPapa]

This year appears to be worse than usual, but there are always shortages when it gets cold and the demand for home heating goes up.

I use LP to heat my shop. I used to fill a 500 gallon tank (as full as they will fill a tank with LP is about 85%) for under $600. I was paying $1.30-$1.40 or so.
So this month I got a card that says if I order before the 28th of this month, I can save $1.99/gallon.
Holy crap - that is a savings of a lot more than I used to pay for a gallon of LP!

Not long ago I paid $1200 for a fill (they only fill to about 85% due to expansion if things warm up - so do the math)
I may be working with gloves and a parka out there this winter. I just can't pay that kind of money.

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[RJinPV]

This article is dated April 2022 but it outlines the various reasons the diesel market is tight and may stay that way. Some of the reasons stated are:

"In a separate five-point list, Verleger mentioned ongoing issues with the diesel market.
— The increased demand for low sulfur-diesel.
— A decline in Nigerian oil production, which is reducing supply of a key low-sulfur crude.
— “Limited desulfurization capacity.”
— The use of gasoil, a diesel-like product in Europe, to generate electricity because natural gas is so expensive.
— Sanctions against Russia, by governments or private companies, choking off a significant supply of diesel."

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/d...nd-crude-gasoline-and-likely-to-stay-that-way

 

[Rusty PW]

I use LP to heat my shop. I used to fill a 500 gallon tank (as full as they will fill a tank with LP is about 85%) for under $600. I was paying $1.30-$1.40 or so.
So this month I got a card that says if I order before the 28th of this month, I can save $1.99/gallon.
Holy crap - that is a savings of a lot more than I used to pay for a gallon of LP!

Not long ago I paid $1200 for a fill (they only fill to about 85% due to expansion if things warm up - so do the math)
I may be working with gloves and a parka out there this winter. I just can't pay that kind of money.

I got natural gas for heat. I'm on what they call a budget plan. I pay the same amount every month. 3 yrs ago, it was $103. Then it went up to $119. then to $127. Just got my new bill. $143 now.

 

[BourbonRunner]

Clear is OTR. Red is off road.

Diesel #1 is also known as winter diesel because it performs better than Diesel #2 in cold temperatures. It has a lower viscosity and is not prone to gel in freezing temperatures. Most stations offer a premium Diesel mix that is blended for local weather conditions

Thanks Rusty, but isn't home heating oil essentially the same as diesel just without the additives? Makes me wonder what fuel oil costs in the Northeast are going to be this year.

 

[Lunentucker]

If this nation runs out of diesel fuel, or even runs short enough to shut down for a short period of time, it will be catastrophic.
Diesel does everything.
It delivers my LP gas for cooking.
It runs the trucks and equipment and parts deliveries that keep the electrical grid functioning and keeps my geothermal heat pumps going, my lights on, my food fresh.
It runs the farms and delivers goods to and from them.
There are billions of tons of grain crops still in the fields from the middle of the nation South.
Diesel runs ships. Diesel delivers airplane fuel.
Diesel heats homes and businesses.
Diesel even runs probably most of the nation's backup generators.
Unless you're living out there like Jeremiah Johnson, you need diesel fuel every day of your life.

The strategic reserves were conceived and designed to sustain this nation and feed a military in the worst of possible scenarios. They've been foolishly reduced for other reasons, and our enemies very much know it.

 

[Rusty PW]

Thanks Rusty, but isn't home heating oil essentially the same as diesel just without the additives? Makes me wonder what fuel oil costs in the Northeast are going to be this year.

Is heating oil the same as red diesel?
No, heating oil is not the same as red diesel (off-road fuel). Though both are tax exempt and dyed red, they each have different sulfur contents. Heating oil has 500ppm of sulfur while red diesel has less than 15ppm. Note that red diesel can be a substitute for heating oil, but heating oil cannot substitute red diesel because of its high sulfur content which is bad for the environment.

 

[JohnFinx]

If you were a greedy corporate CEO pressured by shareholders to maximize profits by any means possible, would you:

A: Make more product to reduce cost to your customers by increasing production. Which will cost you more money in operating cost, and selling it in a country such as the U.S. where prices are lower than others, thus not making as much profit....

OR

B. Cut as much production cost as possible by closing refineries, laying off employees, and not opening up more wells, which results in an artificially induced shortage, then you sell to whatever country is the highest bidder? Maximum price for minimum effort = PROFIT

It's not politics, its greed.

 

[Gvsukids]

I may be working with gloves and a parka out there this winter. I just can't pay that kind of money.

Start a GoFundMe page. I'm sure there'll be enough people on here to help pay for a gallon of fuel.

 

[Gren71]

If you were a greedy corporate CEO pressured by shareholders to maximize profits by any means possible, would you:

A: Make more product to reduce cost to your customers by increasing production. Which will cost you more money in operating cost, and selling it in a country such as the U.S. where prices are lower than others, thus not making as much profit....

OR

B. Cut as much production cost as possible by closing refineries, laying off employees, and not opening up more wells, which results in an artificially induced shortage, then you sell to whatever country is the highest bidder? Maximum price for minimum effort = PROFIT

It's not politics, its greed.

its always funny to see stuff like this and think "man, theres no way. its gotta be outside factors ect. ect"

But then i start getting earnings reports from stocks and im seeing an average of %15-20 ABOVE projected earnings. Higher than expected earnings in a recession is always questionable to me and certainly lends its self to believing corperate greed is more rampant that wed previously be willing to believe.

 

[jeepers29]

Heard we had 25 days left how true that info was I don't know? With our current administration it wouldn't surprise me

You better be careful. You are getting close to banned with that statement.

 

[Lunentucker]

When did the basic tenants of sound business management and Capitalism become "greed"?
This mess started with ill-conceived executive orders that brought a triple A battery to an energy fight.

 

[Lunentucker]

its always funny to see stuff like this and think "man, theres no way. its gotta be outside factors ect. ect"

But then i start getting earnings reports from stocks and im seeing an average of %15-20 ABOVE projected earnings. Higher than expected earnings in a recession is always questionable to me and certainly lends its self to believing corperate greed is more rampant that wed previously be willing to believe.

Wouldn't inflation work its way into earnings the same way it drives everything else up. In fact, if most goods are up 40%, and your earnings are only up 15-20%, you're probably losing ground.

 

[Gren71]

Wouldn't inflation work its way into earnings the same way it drives everything else up. In fact, if most goods are up 40%, and your earnings are only up 15-20%, you're probably losing ground.

im not an economist but id think that earnings would meet projections, or even diminish, in a recession since consumer spending typically decreases. And considering my investment set is pretty broad its surely not representative of the bigger picture. All Im saying is that in an environment where the cost to do business is increased and inflation has decreased the value of the $, seeing profit reports HIGHER than projected makes it easier to believe that companies are taking advantage of the situation.

 

[SuperUltraMan]

Not a troll but what are you going to do about it? Fuel shortages no matter the flavor are the new normal. With interconnectivity of the world now every little bump in the road becomes a sky is falling moment especially when scary headlines earns more dollars.........
Add in market manipulation for the sake of profit and political gains, what more do you need to become jaded and callus?

I understand your point and appreciate that you are not a troll.

 

[Kevin_D]

Is heating oil the same as red diesel?
No, heating oil is not the same as red diesel (off-road fuel). ..

It’s not all red.
Around here they use a blue-green dye.

Kevin

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