Comment – a global issue and guzzling gas?

So I’m settling down on a Friday night to pen this missive and thinking about the difference a year makes?

For a start it’s a relief to be filling the car with diesel at around £1.50 litre, in comparison to almost £2 a litre in very recent memory. Diesel prices at this level, coupled with eye watering electricity recently, means my ardour for the Tesla is at bay, for now.

Before that comfortable feeling of smugness completely envelopes me, however, lets have look at what’s happening outside of the parish..

Western Europe appears to be shifting swiftly away from the reliance on Russian oil and natural gas that Putin had banked on, big tick.

The supply chains have caught up, and manufacturers have capacity, dealers have stock and manufacturer machine availability – semi tick.

There isn’t a big ship stuck sideways in the Suez Canal – big tick.

However if you have been watching the news for the last few days, the Houthi’s attaching shipping heading up the Red Sea and the consequent rerouting of shipping ‘around the horn’ will be awakening that old feeling off vulnerabilities on world markets. As the picture (and thank you to vesselfinder.com for that) shows, its already becoming a lot quieter heading towards the Med up the Red Sea.

Although there is talk of tightening supplies of oil and gas, plus manufactured products from the east, this hasn’t started to play out yet..as the cargo’s are still at sea, but the delays and knock on costs will add up and be passed on in due course.

Watch this space.

And on that happy note, have a good weekend.

Andy

PS I know of one global manufacturer which has pivoted to a local supplier for their bobble hats at LAMMA next week, as the original order is ‘all at sea’. Whatever next?