As the nation laments the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey, it’s impact on manufacturing and transportation is beginning to become more clear. The storm damaged refineries along the Gulf Coast and it’s impact will be multifaceted. At one point Harvey shut down 1/4 of the oil production in the United States. Producers shut down the country’s two largest refineries: Motiva’s 603,000-barrel-per-day facility in Port Arthur, Texas, and ExxonMobil’s 560,500-barrel Baytown, Texas refinery. Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokeswoman, said we could potentially see gas prices over $3.00 per gallon (national average) in the coming weeks, while the Energy Information Administration said: “Harvey created much uncertainty for gasoline supply and prices, as the area affected by the hurricane is home to much of the nation’s petroleum infrastructure.”
The fuel prices are important particularly in the windows door siding and roofing industries due to transportation, but also since vinyl is made with petroleum. One vinyl manufacturer, who expects to implement a 3%-6% price increase for several of their lines said: “Rising natural gas and electricity prices are increasing our manufacturing facility operating costs. Fuel and transportation rates are rising both domestically and abroad, impacting our delivered cost. In spite of every effort, we can no longer fully absorb the extent of these increases.”
The fuel prices are important particularly in the windows door siding and roofing industries due to transportation, but also since vinyl is made with petroleum. One vinyl manufacturer, who expects to implement a 3%-6% price increase for several of their lines said: “Rising natural gas and electricity prices are increasing our manufacturing facility operating costs. Fuel and transportation rates are rising both domestically and abroad, impacting our delivered cost. In spite of every effort, we can no longer fully absorb the extent of these increases.”
We have yet to receive notice of an official price increase from our manufacturers, though we expect adjusted pricing by the end of 2017.