Is There a Fuel Shortage?

[BigBobIa]

I finally decided it was a pain to run my card 2-3 times to fuel up then go in to the facilities. So now I go first and figure out about how much diesel I will need and have them pre-auth pump X with $25-50 more than I think I will need.

Think I need $200-225 I ask for $250 on pump 10.

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by Mikelff

Any fuel shortages are probably two causes. Lack of consistent delivery from storage facilities, and refinery capacity maxed out in that area. There have been no new refineries built in more than 10 years due to EPA regulations and costs to build new refineries , and the public not wanting a refinery near them. The North East is in dire need of more pipelines but they cannot get approvals to build them. The problem nation wide is not lack of crude oil but lack of refining capacity. They cannot make enough fuel fast enough. Covid shut down the oil fields/drilling and it takes a long time to ramp up. They are very short on labor. Rig counts are steadily increasing, It can take up to 6 months, outside of Texas, to get a drilling permit. It just doesn’t turn around on a dime. Oil companies have fixed their balance sheets and curtailed capitol outlays but have not stopped drilling. It will take a year or more to get through this. Oil is a GLOBAL market and oil prices are controlled GLOBALLY. This is where the Russian oil has caused such a price spike. The US alone cannot have much of an impact on prices alone until we can ramp up production, which will take time. Secondly, we need more refinery capacity from NEW refineries, and NEW pipeline to deliver the refined products. We have just about maxed out our infrastructure. Prices will slowly start to come down over time. Oil has dropped around $20 a barrel from its high, and will fluctuate for a while, then hopefully steadily decrease. My wife is in the oil business and hears about the market conditions on a daily basis. Things will get better but will take time months/years. Hopefully, the government and the industry can work out a plan to make things move faster. Time will tell.

😂 thanks I needed that more than the pen signing on 1/21 😜

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by Laredo Tugger

And exactly what is your problem apachewolf ?
Care to elaborate?

RMc

Could be a lack of comprehension of facts?

[flybouy]

OK folks, let's take a breath and get back to what's helpful regarding the OP. The question was posed "is there a shortage?" Taking a deep dive into the why and who shot who is counter productive. If this continues the thread will be closed.

[bsmith0404]

Let’s definitely keep the politics out of it. I find the conversation interesting and have learned a few things. Granted, most of it is useless information, by that I mean information that I can’t use to take any action, but it is interesting and educational. Of course, you never know when you will suddenly have a need or find a use for that useless information. The best we can do in most situations that involve big business or government entities is arm ourselves with knowledge and hope at some point that knowledge will make a difference.

[sourdough]

As one comment said previously paraphrased, we dance around some stuff because it gets political. Each of us has our own thoughts on it but the question was "is there a fuel shortage"....not why, who caused it etc. And in fact it appears there are pockets that are having difficulties from time to time which IS of interest to RVrs. Let's try to keep the information beneficial, or useless as sometimes comments can be but out of the political arena. Certainly posts don't need to be attacking others or the thread WILL get shut down.

[chuckster57]

Still no shortage of fuel that I can see out here, just a shortage of funds needed to buy it. Flying J this afternoon: gas $6.00/ gal. B20 &7.00/gal.

[Laredo Tugger]

Sorry guys.
I took it personal and probably shouldn't have.
Everyone is entitled to their own perspective and viewpoint. I guess they see things differently than I do. Oh well..........
RMc

[Badbart56]

There are spotty shortages across the nation but truthfully, that's probably not unusual. It's just more under the microscope now that it's a political talking point. Personally, I don't think it's a real problem. Yet.....

Being a truck driver, we have networks that keep us fairly well informed including weather and road conditions. One such group is on Facebook and they do an amazing job. Daily Forecast And Road Conditions For Truckers covers the 48 states that we drive on here in the continental US. Plus our company drivers have our own private Facebook page as do many other trucking companies to keep the information rolling. It comes in pretty handy at times.

[hankpage]

[RickV]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

Still no shortage of fuel that I can see out here, just a shortage of funds needed to buy it. Flying J this afternoon: gas $6.00/ gal. B20 &7.00/gal.

I agree, we have traveled from home (North Central Florida) to Northern New Hampshire over the last month and a half and have yet to not be able to get Diesel but, we are hemorrhaging $$$$. Our next stop is NE Maine good thing is we will be there for about a month and a half so our fuel costs will drop. So maybe now we will be able to buy some over priced groceries

[flybouy]

Hank, $1M ? Are they only running those tankers at 1/2 capacity now?

[Spock123]

I was worried about a fuel shortage on my trip to Yellowstone, the only shortage was in my bank account, the most I have paid was $5.75 a gallon. My auxiliary tank that’s more than 10 years old leaked, I could only carry 70 gallons. The cheapest diesel I have found so far is Sam’s in Lincoln NE at $5.04, no shortage of diesel just my billfold. In January I budgeted $4.00 a gallon and didn’t think I would pay that price everywhere. I had to budget $6.00 a gallon and I thought I would drive 5,000 miles round trip and now it looks like 7,000, side trips around Yellowstone. Granddaughter has had fun even though we got flooded out in Yellowstone, we got 1 day in Yellowstone instead of the 5 days we had planned. I’m already planning another trip back to Yellowstone next year. Besides at my age I’m not saying money for the future, I’m spending.

[Badbart56]

https://www.bing.com/images/search?v...t=0&ajaxserp=0

[NH_Bulldog]

We are 2,000 miles into a planned 5,000 mile trip. No lack of fuel anywhere in our travels. In the last few days we have seen prices come down quite a bit which is nice. Last year with the F150 3.5L Ecoboost we had to run 93 octane at around $4.00/gallon to get 9 mpg. This year with the new F250 7.3L we can run 87 octane at $4.89/gallon to get 9 mpg. The overall cost increase is minimal for us over last year yet everywhere we go, we hear of people cancelling plans because of costs. We are not special, and I know not everyone can do it, but we do budget a year in advance and it has served us well.

[gearhead]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

It wasn’t too bad, the 350’non winged series regulars that wanted points were there. I was surprised that not as many of the locals pulled the wings and put a 360’in as years past. Total car count for the 360s was only 18, but could have been worse. The late model class has dropped so far they have trouble getting more than 10 cars. I’m going to the track in Rapid City SD next week, I’ll see how up north compares.

You think the promotor is helping enough with "tow money"?
Spectator attendance, OK?
Get back to us about Rapid City.
Looks like a ASCS race.
About the same distance as me to Knoxville.

[bsmith0404]

Not sure on the tow money. Royal Jones owns the track. As much as he puts into racing sponsorship with MVT all over the country I would assume he is. Spectator attendance has been decent. Grand stands about half full. The Wild West Shootout had good attendance and the WOOs had the stands full. If i remember correctly, they can fit about 11k in the stands here. I’ll definitely give you some feedback on Rapid City.

[gearhead]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

Not sure on the tow money. Royal Jones owns the track. As much as he puts into racing sponsorship with MVT all over the country I would assume he is. Spectator attendance has been decent. Grand stands about half full. The Wild West Shootout had good attendance and the WOOs had the stands full. If i remember correctly, they can fit about 11k in the stands here. I’ll definitely give you some feedback on Rapid City.

Look into going to Knoxville Nationals next year. They sell out fast. Keep an eye on their website. They also have a pretty good show in June, I think it is.
You been to The Chili Bowl in Tulsa?
https://www.knoxvilleraceway.com/
https://www.chilibowl.com/

[bsmith0404]

Haven’t been to the chili bowl yet, keep threatening to go. Definitely want to do Knoxville. Going to try to plan it with a combined trip back home and stay awhile.

[gearhead]

Here are the refineries that have closed and their capacities:
https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/refine...ty/table13.pdf