During the pandemic, disruptions to logistical chains and a spike in purchases for home delivery demand for independent truckers soared. With shoppers returning to stores and logistical chains being ironed out, independent truckers are struggling. Shannon Pettypiece reports for NBC: In the midst of the Covid pandemic, with consumers buying up goods for their lockdown lifestyles and supply chains snarled, Arnesha Barron saw a moment to make her dream of starting her own trucking company come true. The 39-year-old single mother of three teenagers had worked for six years driving a semitruck … [Read more...]
DUST IN THE WIND: Turbine Breakdowns Worry Wind Industry
Ongoing problems with Siemens wind turbines are frightening the entire wind industry as worries over quality and the cost of potential repairs of defective products sink in. Christoph Steitz and Nina Chestney of Reuters report: FRANKFURT/LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Siemens Energy's (ENR1n.DE) disclosure of quality issues in its newer wind turbine models has exposed broader challenges in a sector suffering from rushed development, soaring materials costs and a flawed market design. Siemens Energy shocked the wind sector in late June when it warned of faulty components and possible design … [Read more...]
JOLTED: Job Openings Fall by Half a Million
The number of job openings, as measured by the BLS's Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), fell by 500,000 in May to 9.82 million. You can see in the chart below that job openings are still well above the number of unemployed Americans, which was 6.09 million in May. The net 3.73 million additional openings compared to unemployed workers signals a continued tight labor market. … [Read more...]
Car Market Is the Least Affordable in Modern History
The market for automobiles is the least affordable in modern history, according to CoPilot CEO Pat Ryan in an interview with CNBC. Jessica Dickler reports: By nearly every measure, buying a car has become extremely expensive. Not only are new vehicle prices near an all-time high, but the interest rate to finance a purchase has also jumped dramatically. Now, fewer affordable new cars even hit the market, according to recent reports. Today, new cars priced under $30,000 make up just 8% of the market’s supply, down from 38% pre-pandemic, car shopping app CoPilot found. “It’s the least … [Read more...]
America Driving a Global Surge in LNG Exports
In a new analysis, the EIA detailed a surge in the global trade of liquified natural gas (LNG), driven by a rapid increase in exports from the United States. The EIA reports: Data source: CEDIGAZ, 2022 and International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers (GIIGNL), 2012–2021 Note: GIIGNL has not released its 2022 report. In 2022, global trade in liquefied natural gas (LNG) set a record high, averaging 51.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), a 5% increase compared with 2021, according to data by CEDIGAZ. Liquefaction capacity additions, primarily in the United States, drove … [Read more...]
Costs for American Oil and Gas Drillers Look Set to Fall
American oil and gas drillers could get some much-needed wind in their sails if the costs of drilling decline as expected in the coming months. Bloomberg's Kevin Crowley reports: While inflation is persisting across the US — albeit at a slower pace — the country’s oil fields are a rare corner of the economy where prices are actually dropping. Drill pipe prices have halved this year, daily rig rates are down by more than 10% and the costs of steel and diesel are also trending lower. The number of active oil rigs has dropped 13% from this year’s peak, indicating there’s a surplus of … [Read more...]
Eurozone Edging Closer to CBDC with New Proposal
The Eurozone is edging closer to adopting a central bank digital currency with a new proposal by the European Commission outlining its plans for the digital euro. In a press release, the ECB stated: Proposed legislation establishes framework facilitating the possible introduction of a digital euro that is widely usable and available throughout the euro area ECB also welcomes Commission proposal to protect legal tender status of euro cash Governing Council to decide in autumn whether to move to next phase of digital euro project The European Commission has published today its … [Read more...]
Unexpected Jump in the Number of Used Trucks for Sale
The number of used semi-trucks for sale saw an unexpected and uncharacteristic jump in May. Scott Achelpohl reports for Fleet Owner, writing: Freight transportation is experiencing a widely recognized slowdown and truck and trailer costs to operate are higher, maintenance and repair is only costing fleets more, and even tires are much more expensive. Yet Class 8 used sales were unexpectedly up for May, even as the equipment is markedly older with higher mileage, challenging some observers of the equipment market to make sense of it all. According to the new State of the Industry: U.S. … [Read more...]
Metal Prices Fall as Manufacturing Signals Weakness
Manufacturing surveys in China, Europe, and the United States have recently signaled weakness alongside that of metal prices. Reuters's Andy Home reports: China's manufacturing sector contracted for the third straight month in June. The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 49.0, a slight improvement on May but still below the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction. The Caixin PMI, which is generated from surveys of smaller, more export-oriented companies, was slightly better at 50.5 but that was down from May levels. Taken together, the PMIs suggest … [Read more...]
LITHIUM RUSH: Automakers Buying Mines to Secure Supply
Automakers are searching the globe looking to secure their own supplies of lithium to build the batteries in their electric cars. Clifford Krauss and Jack Ewing report in The New York Times: Eager to avoid falling further behind Tesla and Chinese car companies, many Western auto executives are bypassing traditional suppliers and committing billions of dollars on deals with lithium mining companies. They are showing up in hard hats and steel-toed boots to scope out mines in places like Chile, Argentina, Quebec and Nevada to secure supplies of a metal that could make or break their companies … [Read more...]
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