Crude oil and refined products have very different cost structures. Gas and diesel is made from crude but fuels at the pump has the cost of refining it. The delivery cost and state taxes are are also a huge part of the price structure.

The delivery cost of fuel is also based upon the distance the
from the pipeline. All fuel is delivered by truck which requirea a CDL driver with a HAZMAT endorsement as well as a TWIC card...these folks are in short supply so their hourly cost has gone up a lot
Oh BTW the delivery truck burns diesel which is going up on cost.

The price of crude is a trend when comparing refined fuel costs...but there is a lot more that goes into the price of refined products.

Quote from: Lambykins on October 29, 2021, 06:57:33 PM
If you like turkey for your holiday meals, especially if your target size is 10 to 15 pounds...if you see one, get it! Especially if you can find one at a reasonable price.
Meat Dept manager was informed last week that his order for turkeys will be cut to 40% of what he ordered last year AND the price will probably double, if not triple by Christmas.
Dairy Dept has had certain items put on their *limited* list: Philadelphia Cream Cheese, ALL pie crusts (the kind that you pull out of a box and they are just flat crusts ready to put in pie pan), certain types of cheese....

Dang, forgot to check the prices & weights but, my Krogers/Dillons just got a good size shipment of large family gathering size turkeys stocked today.

Don't know if it's unique to my town, county, state but I thought a heads up for Kansas UFoZSers wouldn't be amis right now.

There seemed to be plenty of turkeys at the grocery store today.  Nothing I was looking for seemed to be missing, and I even found things that don't exist! (Gluten-free puff pastry, for those who are wondering)

Now, my 10-14 pound turkey I ordered came out to be 17 pounds...but I'll survive that.  I'm guessing they ran out of the smaller ones.

Quote from: CG on November 22, 2021, 08:02:50 PM
There seemed to be plenty of turkeys at the grocery store today.  Nothing I was looking for seemed to be missing, and I even found things that don't exist! (Gluten-free puff pastry, for those who are wondering)

Now, my 10-14 pound turkey I ordered came out to be 17 pounds...but I'll survive that.  I'm guessing they ran out of the smaller ones.

No turkeys and only very tiny hams at my usual haunts, but the upscale shop my husband likes to get his steaks from had some decent hams and some small turkeys (like, turkeys that will easily fit in my 8qt crock pot with room to spare).

We thought the kids were leaving for the week, so we didn't worry about it.  Their plans fell through and they've asked to invite another person, so we got some ham and tiny turkey and stuff for sides, but it's not going to be a lot for seven people.

Last year we did "Zoomsgiving" which meant I had to make my own food.  I've never done turkey and didn't feel like experimenting, so I went with Chicken Tequila Fettuccine (the California Pizza Kitchen recipe).  It's a favorite of mine and reheats well, which is important if you're single.  Had some mac & cheese, various veggies, potatoes, and some Pillsbury crescent rolls, with pumpkin crisp for dessert.  Took me another week to finish it all, but it turned out really well.

What I'm getting at is that your Thanksgiving dinner doesn't have to have specific foods in order to be a success.  My parents used to invite various people from their church who didn't have family in the area to eat with us.  Some of them were from other countries which meant getting food from different cultures, all of which was excellent!  The important part is getting together with you and yours, whomever those people are.  Making something a bit different for dinner might end up as a wonderful memory, so be creative and have some fun!

WFSB News 3- Natural gas shortage, supply chain issues could result in rolling blackouts in New England

Power grid operator ISO New England is warning there could be blackouts or controlled outages if we get severe cold weather this season.

It all has to do with the natural gas shortages and the supply chain issues we are seeing globally.

If the weather stays like we have been experiencing recently, then they will have enough electricity for New England, but if several cold days come, they might not have enough energy to distribute to companies, like Eversource and United Illuminating.

New England depends heavily on natural gas to create electricity and because there is a shortage, we might not have enough to meet the demand if we get bad weather.



Boston Globe - Rolling blackouts possible in New England this winter, regional grid warns

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Rolling blackouts may hit New England if there's an extended cold snap this winter, as the regional power grid operator warns of a "precarious" situation due to snags in the natural gas supply.

Much of the grid's power comes from burning natural gas, and right now that fuel is in shorter-than-normal supply and is subject to supply chain disruptions, said Gordon van Welie, CEO of ISO New England.

The region's grid is often near the limit during winter months, but severe weather combined with high natural gas prices and pipeline constraints could push the grid past the tipping point and prompt mandatory usage restrictions.

Its been months since I posted in this thread. Things have not gotten better locally. (This sounds like the beginning of a post apocolyptic sci fi movie.) Local grocery stores are running out of various items randomly.

Here in socal the kroger company has long ago killed off the unions. That used to make working in a grocery store a viable career. Now they are cutting costs even further. Very few checkers and stockers at the local stores. Shelves run bare from short supply. And what is there is often a jumbled mess strewn across shelves. As few stockers exist.

Everytime i go i have to plan for long lines with only 2 cashiers working at a time. 15 to 20 people lined up to pay.

If i find something in stock i often buy multiples. As i dont know when it might be in stock again.

Wet dog and cat food seem to come and go. Costcos excellent brand is rarely in stock. Even the cheap brands at kroger come and go. The only bright side is it used to be stock piled before sent out to stores. But now its really fresh canned food. As it seems to come direct from the factory to the store. Whrnever production allows.

Locally I have seen a few empty shelves but not many. The shelf inventory is shallower but most products are still there.

I feared pork/ham would be in short supply  but that has not happened.

The local products are available in quantity. Eggs, pork, beef and shrimp are available but prices are up a lot.


The only thing in short supply i have run into is cat food and cat litter. That is because i am looking for specific brands and types of each.

Quote from: Raptor on January 16, 2022, 01:37:29 PM
The only thing in short supply i have run into is cat food and cat litter. That is because i am looking for specific brands and types of each.

Over here to the east of you I've also noticed the cat food shortage. About six months ago I resorted to buying the canned stuff on eBay, and with the free shipping a couple of sellers offers, it costs about the same. Dry cat food was still available locally up until recently, but now it's getting thin. 

Recently, the lunch meat section of the local Piggly Wiggly and Rouses has been pretty bare,   

Over the holidays, I could not find a soy/almond/rice/coconut-based eggnog alternative to save my life.  The real stuff is too rich for my blood (literally) and the alternatives give enough of that eggnog taste to satisfy my needs.  I see eggnog merely as a rum/bourbon delivery system anyway.  So I've been buying the non-dairy stuff for years now.

This year, it's like the whole seasonal product category just disappeared.  I'm guessing there must be a shortage of some critical ingredient and the non-dairy milk alternative industry decided to concentrate on their core products.   

Things in DSM, as of Sunday, January 16th, 2022; still suck nasty-ass w/o any sign of getting better.

From an online ordering POV, the items most readily available are things no one should eat, for any reason.  Getting quality produce, meat, dairy (online) isn't happening.  There are a few exceptions at times, but those are uncommon.

fwiw, I don't understand why I can order Everclear by the US gal, but I can't get a pack of Camels

I went to get some distilled water, which used to be $0.50 per gallon.  Today they are $1.12 per gallon.  Water distillation is inefficient in small batches, but I wonder at what point it becomes cheaper to just do it at home. 

store brand water has been iffy for 6-8 months around here. One week, Kroger will have no distilled; next week, Walmart will be out of spring water
store brand lunch meat and canned vegetables are hit and miss also

Honey wheat bread of any brand is hit or miss here.  Even Amazon Fresh has been out of it. 

I cannot get my Yasso fudge brownie or chocolate fudge froyo bars at all, but those are kind of specialty.  Ice cream in general seems to be available.  I guess I'm going to have to make my own froyo.

Chicken nuggets and chicken strips are still a challenge to find and milk is often out, as well.  Vanilla extract is either impossible to find or stupid expensive, so I have some homemade stuff aging in a drawer. 

The price of sugar came back down.  It's back near $0.50 per pound.

Our suppliers have put the store back on *allocation*, which means we get only a certain percentage of our orders to the warehouse.
Reasons:
1 Manufacturers are sending the warehouses less stuff. They have serious worker shortages.
2 Pickers/stockers/loaders at the warehouse have quit in droves. They now have a serious lack of workers.
3 Truckers are leaving the industry in record numbers. Our main supplier had to DOUBLE the average drivers pay to keep them. Plus add perks (health insurance inclu. dental/vision, a retirement package, etc.
4 The weather (nationwide) has seriously sucked.

We are doing fairly well up here, though.
We have the wonderful advantage of being an INDEPENDENT grocery store. Lance was able to call around and access smaller lots that most big chains aren't interested in and negotiate prices personally, etc.
We had plenty of alternative eggnog at Christmas (I think we might still be carrying some brands, I'll have to look tomorrow). Our waters went up a little, but not as much as noted before and we have ample supply.

Still, we have a few items that don't come in.

Here's a few suggestion to find those items you can't find at the big chains:

Shop INDEPENDENT stores not affiliated with a big chain. They are few and far between, but they are out there. They appreciate your business. Prices can be higher or lower than chains, but if you strike up a friendship with a cashier, they might tell you the best days to come in *cough-cough* Friday mornings at around 10, or offer to order the holy grail item you have been looking for. (Our most popular holy grail item is coffee creamer. There is one flavor people can't seem to find anywhere else. One guy from Boston drives up once every couple weeks to get a case or two of this stuff. We call him and tell him when it gets in and hold his cases for him in the cooler)

Look at Big Lots and/or Odd Lots (whatever it is called in your A/O. ) They carry groceries. Usually nothing refrigerated/frozen, but plenty of dry goods at cheaper prices. Also canned goods. Our local (an hour away) Odd Lots had Bobs Red Mill stuff at a half the price my store sells it! And manuka honey for 9 bucks a pint! Walnuts for 3.99 for a pound bag! You get the idea.

When they open for the season, make friends at your local farmers markets and farm stands. Buy your eggs from local farms. If you are okay with it, buy raw milk from a local farm. Frequent the *pick your own* farms or join one of those co-ops that have farm boxes stuffed full of veggies and fruits for members. Join a group that buys *shares* in a cow or pig that a farmer raises/butchers for you.

Network. Network with friends/neighbors/relatives so they'll let you know when items are available. And let them know, too!

In my AO lately, seems like each of the two grocers I shop at have differing shortages of items.  So we're usually able to get everything, but obviously takes more time to get them having to shop two different stores.

Chicken at one store has been almost impossible to find for several months now, while the other has fully stocked shelves.  One has had a shortage of canned veggies, but are in abundance at the other.  Only could not get a particular lunch meat I like from either this past weekend.  Bread, milk, eggs, sugar, flour, meats etc.  have all been readily available otherwise...  pricing is of course way up on most.

I hear from co-workers WallyWorld is perpetually out of lots of staple items.  I don't shop there, so does not bother me.


So as far as the inflation goes, when does the transitory part stop?   Oh...  yeah... right...  uhhh... Nevermind.   


Now from a material standpoint at work, it's getting a lot worse. Lead times that were 2-3 weeks, were pushed out to 3 months, and some of those now have been pushed out to 5+ months.  Electronic components to build our control panels have gone stupidly insane for delivery times. 

I'm noticing that a lot of the smaller sizes of things are gone - no regular size cans of Dinty Moore, just the double size ones.  No individual cups of instant rice, but plenty of the boxes.

Quote from: CG on January 19, 2022, 06:14:58 PM
I'm noticing that a lot of the smaller sizes of things are gone - no regular size cans of Dinty Moore, just the double size ones.  No individual cups of instant rice, but plenty of the boxes.

Can't get marinara sauce at sizes smaller than 24oz here.  On the other hand, I can only get small bottles of ketchup and not the big bottles we used to get.

Oh...I almost forgot.  The cook up at church last night said they couldn't find any larger tomato products at Sam's.  She was aghast that she was having to use JARRED sauce instead of making spaghetti sauce from scratch.   

Quote from: Anianna on January 16, 2022, 11:12:58 PMI went to get some distilled water, which used to be $0.50 per gallon.  Today they are $1.12 per gallon.  Water distillation is inefficient in small batches, but I wonder at what point it becomes cheaper to just do it at home.

Distilled instead of purified?  Just curious as why?

I always get purified because it's primary use is in my CPAP.