U.S. Fuel "Crisis"

I hear fumrlings of a U.S. fuel crises... the is little or no coverage of this in the uk mainstream media and I would like to invite U.S. residents to comment on this.

I have heard of closed garages etc in the Southern U.S. and a friend has just returned from Los Angeles and told me of similar things. There seems to be little knowledge of this worldwide and I'd welcome suppersition and hearsay from fellow ATS members.

If it is really that bad I'm wondering how long before it starts to affect my country (U.K.) and for general (or specific) speculation on the short and/or long-term consequences of such.

Thanks

It's not a worldwide or even a country wide "shortage" of fuel, but it consists of about 5 states that I know of, Kentucky,Georgia,Tennessee,North & South Carolina.
It started with everyone saying "You better fill up, gas will be X amount tomorrow" and when word spread, people did just that.
On top of production cut down by at least 30%, we now have everyone topping there tanks, further shortening the supply.
Then we have the military stationed in Georgia, one of the effected states, using its fair share of the fuel, although mostly diesel.
I'm not sure where to connect the dots here, or even how, but what I am sure of, is this is deeper than it appears.
I live in one of the effected states and 4 out of 5 stations here has plastic bags over the gas pumps and out of gas, even after nearly 2 weeks of the "shortage"

Think about it from the other side for just a minute.
When people hear "gas shortage, price jump" or similar words what do they do? Run out and fill up. That is a massive surge in money exchange and stations run out. Demand overwhelms supply and the price goes up for example 32 cents, then when its over, it only comes down 27 cents. Do that enough and we have gas that is $5 a gallon like I've seen several places.

Nashville Tn is near the epicenter of this event, need you ask why?

50% of the US population lives within 650 miles of Nashville. There are more people within a six hour drive of Nashville than anywhere in the country.

Over 600,000 people live in the Nashville and Davidson county area, which encompasses 526 square miles. The Nashville Economic Market encompasses 10 surrounding counties with a population of more than 1.5 million.

www.csm.org...

What a convenient place to have a "shortage"..

I don't know what to think. I hear about shortages and high prices, but I paid $3.39 yesterday. That's the cheapest it's been in months here in texas. BTW I live close to Houston(Ike).

[edit on 5-10-2008 by HERACAT]

If you look at gasbuddy.com you'll note the major portion of high prices are in the GA area.

Gas Map

Easily the highest prices in the country right now. I've heard rumor of $5.00+ regular unleaded gasoline in areas of Atlanta. North Carolina also seems to be hit pretty hard as well.

Now I personally live in Memphis, we got pretty lucky here, most places are out of the higher grades of gas, but regular is available everywhere. Also at a pretty decent price (got it at $3.29 this afternoon). I'm in the midst of planning a trip to Florida in the next few weeks and have already adjusted my route to pass through Alabama and Mississippi instead, due to lower gas prices. Hopefully on my return trip prices will have stabilized so I can drive through the mountains in east TN and north GA.

As far as shortages, the only thing i've seen is anything higher than regular being rather scarce. But if you can handle regular unleaded, then you're just fine.

Here in Kingman, Arizona we're seeing $3.39 per gallon for 87 octane on Route 66 which is one of the the major highways through town.


Although I did get nailed for $3.99 per gallon for 87 octane on the outskirts of Seligman, Arizona Tuesday before last.
A bit of a tourist town and at the junction of I-40 and Route 66.

Better'n walking, but it struck me as a touch greedy....

Thanks for the response, the way I was reading into it, there was "maybe" a proper shortage, that people were unable to get fuel. Is there anyone who can add any details on the closure of garages-petrol stations? If this were here in the UK, I'm sure the populace would be distinctly unsettled.

Producers world wide have cut production of gasoline by 10% because of the decline in the global economy. They would rather make outrageous profit on small sales, and preserve their supply for future higher profits.

The price would have dropped seriously in the last week to increase demand if the production were not cut. But that is not the objective.

The objective was to raise the price of fuel, while pulling back the economys. This way the fuel producers rake in record profits in a time of decline, and when the economies come back, they make even more.
The extra profits give them the advantage in bringing alternative fuel sources to market, so they can maintain their empires. It would not be bad if it were altruistic, but it is not. It is financial aid to give them the capitol to raid those who have been working long and hard at a disadvantage and are now stressed by the current financial conditions.

What a bargain!

I have been following this story - not in the mainstream media at all, but thanks to ATS members - since the beginning. It is alarming. Here in the Los Angeles area I have noticed no shortages as of yet. Gas is still about $3.80 a gallon. Still less than it was back in June. I am definately keeping my tank full and my eyes open.

My parents live in the North Georgia mountains. Immediately following hurricane Ike the shortage started in their area which is roughly 2hrs
north of Atlanta. My dad has been calling just about every day to keep me informed. He has been driving at least an hour each day to get to the first
station that has gas. This is usually around 7:30 am If he waits until around 8 to start his trip, by the time he finds gas the station will have run out. Once he finds it the wait is anywhere from 1-2 hours.The price has been around $4.90. Approximately 60% of stations in and around Atlanta
are completely out. In both areas store owners have said once they run out of gas they have no idea when next delivery will be.

How are Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, etc. supposed to make up for all this lost tax revenue? Many cities are already on the verge of bankruptcy; Like Birmingham, AL which could end up the largest bankruptcy ever filed by a US city.

Just goes to show how Washington doesn't seem to have their priorities straight when handing out monies.

There was a pretty severe shortage for a couple weeks in the southeast. It seems to be easing slightly now, although some more rural areas are still completely out. Here are some threads where it was discussed:

Possible Shortage

Washington DC Shortage

Is the gas crisis being ignored?

Nashville shortage cover-up

And a google news search shows:
Many other articles about the shortage all over the US Southeast

Originally posted by Cyberbian
Producers world wide have cut production of gasoline by 10% because of the decline in the global economy. They would rather make outrageous profit on small sales, and preserve their supply for future higher profits.

The price would have dropped seriously in the last week to increase demand if the production were not cut. But that is not the objective.

The objective was to raise the price of fuel, while pulling back the economys. This way the fuel producers rake in record profits in a time of decline, and when the economies come back, they make even more.
The extra profits give them the advantage in bringing alternative fuel sources to market, so they can maintain their empires. It would not be bad if it were altruistic, but it is not. It is financial aid to give them the capitol to raid those who have been working long and hard at a disadvantage and are now stressed by the current financial conditions.

What a bargain!

yeah and the most stupid thing is that they keep hitting more and more oil and they just pump less and less. and no one seems to even ask the question why in any form of higher government either here in EU or America.

Ok, just wondering if anyone is still following this?

I got some news recently from a friend that works in the oil industry - just a techy on an oil rig in the North Sea - apparently they're slowing production down to artificially keep the price high. This isn't a great surprise but apparently there's no intention of letting the price drop at any point in the future.

Originally posted by jokei
Ok, just wondering if anyone is still following this?

I got some news recently from a friend that works in the oil industry - just a techy on an oil rig in the North Sea - apparently they're slowing production down to artificially keep the price high. This isn't a great surprise but apparently there's no intention of letting the price drop at any point in the future.

I live in VA. and price here is $2.22 and falling. We never saw a dramatic
increase at all.

My parents are in mountains of North Ga. everything is pretty stable prices are are around $2.45. And most every station has gas.

I'll check back in on this in about a week if things start to change.

I believe the prices will fall again because there is so much talk about alternative energy and the only way they can keep their power is to lower the prices and keep the racket going when the talk about alternatives stops(after the election) they will raise the prices again to make up for the losses (during the election)

I see the price going to $8 dollers after the election and the only way we as humans can stop them is for everyone on the planet going to bicycles or walk to wherever you are going

I have boycotted the auto industry myself and have walked over ten miles to work, and if the company I apply to asks if I can travel on their application I say NO, until this becomes a norm for people on the planet then it will never stop.

If you dont like the rules of the game quit playing

rtcctr

People on this planet have become too lazy for this to happen

reply to post by jokei


OPEC is reducing output. They do this occasionally to keep demand and prices up. Not much to see there.