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Permalink Reply by benny688 on January 21, 2011 at 14:58

Well, Dow Chemical comes to mind.  After bad timing over buying ROH and having the KDOW deal fall through in the summer of 2008 they ended up with a crushing debt.

 

Best I can understand it, lower ng prices have greatly increased the margins on ethylene production so that they are steadily paying down the debt.

 

Look at a 3 year stock chart on DOW.

 

GLTA

 

 

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Permalink Reply by P.G. on January 22, 2011 at 8:40

Yes! The last time fuel prices went up, prices were adjusted to reflect the higher prices but they never came down. Now prices will adjust upward again when fuel goes back up.

Fertilizer prices are high due to demand from farmers for growing ethanol producing crops like corn which compete with our food..  Nearly all food products contain some kind of corn product as modified food starches, dextrose, maltadextrin  (spelling), corn oil, corn syrup, and a host of others. If one avoided corn products at the grocery store, they'd have to eliminate about 80% of the products...

Now it probably wouldn't be politically feasible for our leaders to undo the ethanol for fuel given how big a business it has become...

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Permalink Reply by Max on January 24, 2011 at 7:44

Corn prices up 89%.

 

Sugar prices up 48%.

 

Hum, could somebody calculate how much I should increase my price on ethanol?  The canning jars went up last year but I started a return deposit of 25 cents a jar and now most folks just want a 'refill' and they bring back their jars.  I do have to replace the lids though, the ethanol eats up the rubber seals and corrodes the screw lid.  I cut back on the proof to help control this problem, but some of my customers noticed right off and left some nasty notes in their returned jars.

 

I got right on my customer relations manager, (my second job title) and told him to quit cutting the product to quickly, customers know before they get out of the drive way that, "someum ain't right".  A few of them came back and threatened to chop holes in my manufacturing equipment. 

 

I went back to my lab and reformulated my product until you could at least make it burn when you throw-ed a match on a good wet spot of it.  I also learned that the volunteer fire department can make it to my house in less than thirty minutes.  There was a couple of 'good old boys' with them and they convinced the other volunteers that I was just trying to burn down a old shed that needed burning down. 

 

I do have to admit, I have some of the best neighbors around.  It wasn't three days until I had a brand new shed and back in business with their help.  Of course, I am planning on giving all six of them a gallon pickle jar of my finest, uncut product for Christmas next year.  Got to go, customer honking out front.

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Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on January 24, 2011 at 8:40

Frank, I think there are substantial costs other than natural gas that factor in heavily into the price of fertilizer.  Plus I am not sure all our fertilizer is manufactured in the US. 

 

Just to clarify 2010 price of natural gas is at about half of 2008 - not a third and the gas price is only down about a third versus 2007 level.   

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