Biden's America

[BigRedBuster]

22 minutes ago, JJ Husker said:

BTW, our use of plastics is extremely low but we do use some HDPE and UHMW materials. My suppliers have all indicated the reason for these plastic increases and shortages is “the snow storm in Texas”. JFC. One little storm in Texas that we wouldn’t have batted an eye at in Nebraska or Colorado has caused severe shortages and massive price increases that we haven’t recovered from a couple months later? What kind of house of cards is this?

The problem is that all of those facilities in Texas aren't built for cold cold and all of their water pipes are exposed above ground.  It broke all the water pipes in these huge facilities.  And....once one is taken down, it takes a long time to start back up.  It's frustrating.  But, their explanation is correct.  The one facility we pull out of, is larger than 1 mile square with water pipes running all over the place.  So, imagine a small town in Nebraska with exposed water pipes and all the pipes froze and broke all at once.

[ZRod]

20 minutes ago, JJ Husker said:

BTW, our use of plastics is extremely low but we do use some HDPE and UHMW materials. My suppliers have all indicated the reason for these plastic increases and shortages is “the snow storm in Texas”. JFC. One little storm in Texas that we wouldn’t have batted an eye at in Nebraska or Colorado has caused severe shortages and massive price increases that we haven’t recovered from a couple months later? What kind of house of cards is this?

We use a metric butt tonne of plastics in Automotive. And it's resins not just plastics. So things like glues, fiberglass, and fiberglass resins are also affected. I've been following these shortages very closely for work. I saw some of the pictures of these refineries. It looked like friggin glaciers took over their pipes. The whole supply chain got hit hard.

 

 

Things are improving, but there are still supply line bubbles that will be hitting middle of May here and there. By June I think we should be out of the woods though.

 

Microchips on the other hand are f#&%ed!

[ZRod]

I also want to say... somebody should lose their a$$ over this microchip thing. I'm surprised there haven't been any lawsuits or congressional investigations. These companies signed up to clear contractual volumes and they aren't meeting them.

 

It's costing us millions with plants sitting idle.

[JJ Husker]

19 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

The problem is that all of those facilities in Texas aren't built for cold cold and all of their water pipes are exposed above ground.  It broke all the water pipes in these huge facilities.  And....once one is taken down, it takes a long time to start back up.  It's frustrating.  But, their explanation is correct.  The one facility we pull out of, is larger than 1 mile square with water pipes running all over the place.  So, imagine a small town in Nebraska with exposed water pipes and all the pipes froze and broke all at once.

I get that it’s a real problem. But I’m amazed beyond belief those companies wouldn’t have planned for the possibility. I realize a cold snap like that is rare down there but the dumbsh#ts should’ve realized it was going to happen at some point. I just struggle understanding how they could’ve been caught so flat footed. Maybe I expect too much....

[ZRod]

1 hour ago, JJ Husker said:

I get that it’s a real problem. But I’m amazed beyond belief those companies wouldn’t have planned for the possibility. I realize a cold snap like that is rare down there but the dumbsh#ts should’ve realized it was going to happen at some point. I just struggle understanding how they could’ve been caught so flat footed. Maybe I expect too much....

Not sure but I think the power outage is what really f#&%ed them.

 

Quite a few facilities also had interruptions during the 2020 Hurricane season late last year. A few years ago Hurricane Harvey cause major issues as well.

[JJ Husker]

2 hours ago, ZRod said:

Not sure but I think the power outage is what really f#&%ed them.

 

Quite a few facilities also had interruptions during the 2020 Hurricane season late last year. A few years ago Hurricane Harvey cause major issues as well.

All the more reason they should've already dealt with their problems. They know where their weaknesses are  yet they keep acting like it's a surprise when it keeps happening. Or maybe they just don't give a sh#t in Texas.....a lot of that going around lately.

[Archy1221]

6 hours ago, BigRedBuster said:

I've had the same questions about the infrastructure plan.  Where are they going to get the materials to do anything?

Unfortunately, what you are experiencing is not just in steal.  It's in plastics, aluminum, tin, wood....everything.  

 

However, I'm not sure what you expect the government to do.  At least in my line of work, our raw materials come from domestic sources and the shortages of materials are because of the extreme high demand.  The government hasn't shut down production or over regulated anything that caused it.

Huge issue in semi conductor chips also.  Take a look around at your local car dealership.  Lots are over half empty because they can’t get cars,   Manufacturers are shutting down car plants cause they can’t get chips 

[ZRod]

41 minutes ago, JJ Husker said:

All the more reason they should've already dealt with their problems. They know where their weaknesses are  yet they keep acting like it's a surprise when it keeps happening. Or maybe they just don't give a sh#t in Texas.....a lot of that going around lately.

I think it's the push for everyone to operate with tight margins and cut cost where ever you can. The cancer of the bottom line for investors...

[Archy1221]

4 hours ago, ZRod said:

I also want to say... somebody should lose their a$$ over this microchip thing. I'm surprised there haven't been any lawsuits or congressional investigations. These companies signed up to clear contractual volumes and they aren't meeting them.

 

It's costing us millions with plants sitting idle.

Chip manufacturers didn’t realize the auto factories would come back on-line so fast last summer.   They moved capacity to their more profitable line of consumer electronic chips and that caused some of this backlog. 

[Guy Chamberlin]

Major lumber shortage and months of backlog for plumbing fixtures and other big ticket low-tech home improvement materials.  Big increase in demand for both. Contractors and retailers caught in the middle.

[knapplc]

6 hours ago, JJ Husker said:

I get that it’s a real problem. But I’m amazed beyond belief those companies wouldn’t have planned for the possibility. I realize a cold snap like that is rare down there but the dumbsh#ts should’ve realized it was going to happen at some point. I just struggle understanding how they could’ve been caught so flat footed. Maybe I expect too much....

 

2 hours ago, JJ Husker said:

All the more reason they should've already dealt with their problems. They know where their weaknesses are  yet they keep acting like it's a surprise when it keeps happening. Or maybe they just don't give a sh#t in Texas.....a lot of that going around lately.

 

These companies were warned years ago about the possibility of this stuff happening. They chose not to retrofit their plants to insure they could still be functional in case of extreme weather like we just saw.

 

 

[BigRedBuster]

38 minutes ago, knapplc said:

 

 

These companies were warned years ago about the possibility of this stuff happening. They chose not to retrofit their plants to insure they could still be functional in case of extreme weather like we just saw.

 

 

Power companies, yes. I’m not sure companies like we are discussing were warned. These are all in the Houston/Galveston area so pretty far south. There had never been a storm like that before. 

[ZRod]

13 hours ago, Archy1221 said:

Chip manufacturers didn’t realize the auto factories would come back on-line so fast last summer.   They moved capacity to their more profitable line of consumer electronic chips and that caused some of this backlog. 

It wasn't necessarily that we came back online faster. It's that these chip supplier didn't switch back over when we came back. They're also saying tough s#!t for older models and not even producing the chips, which could cause OEMs to redsign to new requirements. They want to force our hand because the older chips aren't as profitable.

[ZRod]

10 hours ago, BigRedBuster said:

Power companies, yes. I’m not sure companies like we are discussing were warned. These are all in the Houston/Galveston area so pretty far south. There had never been a storm like that before. 

Right.

 

Also, there is some minor production in Pennsylvania and the Carolinas I believe. Which can usually sustain the industry through hurricanes and cold snaps, but nothing like having to rebuild whole refineries.

[Archy1221]

16 minutes ago, ZRod said:

They want to force our hand because the older chips aren't as profitable.

You definitely understand this well