diesel fule shortage? o/t

Or all of those are the fat, dumb, and dominant company in there market?

Ah, probably both...

Anyway, nope, don't want government control. But the Government can encourage a market with many instead of few players.

They can also recognize was is nationally critical infrastructure and require it be kept up at an acceptable level. That doesn't even take tax breaks or nuttin' -- it's the fundamental role of the government to establish rules so everyone plays on a level field. And if it says you have to inspect the pipes once a year, well, that doesn't cost anyone anything more than any of their competitors since they all have to do it. Yeah, may add a little to the cost...pay me now, or pay me later.

Jay

This blatant "Public Screwage" is starting to wear a bit thin.

But, I guess as long as we keep buying the stuff, the oil companies will keep puttin' it to us.

Heck, they've even admited that their stockholders' profits are their main concern and I find it more than just a bit suspect when they continue to pull the bits out of the ground.

Read somewhere that there is enough energy available to easily supply the world's demand for the next 200 years :>(

Allan

Neverthe less theres only so much oil, at some point we will run out... I don't know when that time is but it will come, especially if we keep using the stuff like theres no tomorrow...

Oh geez, we *have* to take this plant off line for maintenance right now.

Oh geez, we can't move all this power from north to south this time of year because the lines sag too much ;)

Oh geez, we're sorry, these shortages really aren't are fault!

Yes, there may have been over regulation in the past.

But start enforcing Antitrust / Monopoly laws again and re-establish reasonable regulations of natural monopolies and we'd be much better off.

We're now seeing the downside of too much efficiency -- corporations too consolidated, running too lean on their infrastructure to squeeze maximum profits. Not competitive, and not able to respond rapidly to market changes.

Even down here in my area with 7 refineries within 75 miles we have had not shortages but longer loading lines from closed loading racks.
The racks that are open have plenty of diesel.

The gooferment has mandated that x amount of refineries start making ultra low diesel by June 1 2006. This requires refineries to shut down for update work and cleaning out tanks. This forces driver to load at other racks causing longer lines so someone goes without that day. We are also mandated we can not work over 60 hrs a week.

Once a rack comes back online with ultra low no one loads there because most stations have not switched over to ultra low yet.

Leave it to the gooferment to screw a good system all up.

Whether it's to ethanol instead of MTBE, from conventional to ultra low sulfur, from Diesel to No. 2 fuel oil...

Is because the refineries have consolidated and closed "surplus" capacity...so their day to day operations return as much profits as possible.

And hey, if they have to reduce supply and boost the price during switchovers and still make just as much money, life is good.

Relatively few companies left in the refining business, so it's not like anyone is going to go out and build a refinery just to tip the apple cart of the cushy life right now.

Although sometimes you get cut-throat competetion between only a handful of players...it's sure is a lot more common for competetion to exist where there is a bunch of players in the market and worried someone else will make a move, then what you have in telecommunications, oil, commodity grains, commodity meat today of a handful of dominant players just sitting easy knowing no one is going to challenge them.

We have 2.5 Million barrels a day less refining capacity in the U.S. today than in 1982.

That's something like a 12.5% capacity reduction. Never mind increasing demand.

Yeah, they squeeze more money out day-to-day but as an industry, they lack the capacity to do routine maintenance *and* have anything else happen at the same time to affect production.

If a trucker travelling in winter decided not to carry chains with him to save a few pennies in fuel...then has to wait until the roads are cleared because the Highway Patrol put up a "Chain Restriction" due to snow...

Is that the government's problem for regulating them...

Or is it the trucker's problem for not anticipating reasonable regulations and deciding to save some money instead of being prepared just in case?

A little regulation and thinking ahead *is* a good thing.

Yeah, a lot of things can be done by the free market...but not everything. And especially not everything where a free market isn't functioning.

They've reduced competition in their industry, and have discovered they've got us by the nuts and it's amazing how much we'll actually pay without reducing demand that much.