With plunging oil prices, the consumers are clearly thrilled but the oil producers, particularly OPEC, not so much. This video below and the image, courtesy of CNN, clearly explains the gigantic complexities that impacts the price of oil. With $2/gallon already in some parts of the US, the current geopolitical scene will get even more volatile in the months ahead.
Image courtesy: CNN Money
(Source: TheTruckersReport.com via SCM-Operations.com)
Came across these interesting infographs that offered some great insights into the trucking business..
Image Courtesy: SCM-Operations
Image Courtesy: TheTruckersreport.com
Except for 2008, it was the lowest July gasoline demand number since 2003. Don’t you think it has something to do with the sputtering economic recovery? But the interesting contrast comes from the automobile manufacturers with many of them reporting profitable quarters resulting from brisk sales. Increasing fuel efficiency of the newer models should have some impact in this reduction in demand and it should only get healthier from here on as the new vehicles become more stingy with the fuel consumption. I feel that this demand vs. supply equation will start shifting slowly over the next decade as more and more hybrids & fully-electric vehicles creep into the market space.
At 9.3 million barrels a day, US gasoline deliveries (a measure of demand) fell slightly (0.03%)in July 2010 compared with July 2009, continuing weak deliveries for the first half of the year, according to figures from the American Petroleum Institute (API). Except for 2008, it was the lowest July gasoline demand number since 2003.
Total petroleum demand, on the other hand, rose 3.8% in July over a year ago. This includes a strong 11.6% increase for deliveries of low sulfur distillates, which are primarily diesel fuels used in trucking, and a 6.9% increase in kerosine jet fuel deliveries.
(Source: Autobloggreen & The Economic Times)
Ratan Tata has stuck to his words. At the premiere for Tata Nano in the Auto Expo earlier this year, Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata had said: “By and large we’ve always been a diesel company so we will have a diesel version that will follow this (petrol) variant soon after.” Now, after 203,000 firm orders, Indian automaker Tata found out that most buyers had opted for the more expensive variants of the Nano: only 20 percent of orders have been placed for the base model. The consequence is that Tata is experimenting with new strategies for the Nano, introducing new variants to make it even more attractive for the local market. One of the most important features will be the introduction of a new 0.8-liter diesel engine, developed by German company FEV. According to sources in the auto industry, the small diesel engine will have fuel injection systems developed by Bosch, but the rest of the platform is being developed by Tata Motors and FEV. A 3-door version hatchback Nano, an idea that was originally rejected, is also in the works. Plans for the European versions are, so far, unchanged, but will surely benefit from the diesel variant.
(Source: Autobloggreen)
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