Good morning,
Well, the propane distribution logistics were finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and then the CN Railroad in Canada went on strike Tuesday. CN ships all the rail propane into Wisconsin. The strike is not over yet but making progress. If the strike continues through next week, Wisconsin is going to be in trouble. Enterprise and Oneok pipelines are finally starting to flow a little better now that corn drying is starting to get over the hump. We were actually looking at getting back to normal by December until the CN strike was announced. Seems like as soon as one issue is solved, another pops up. For now, we are grateful for warmer temps and shorter weeks with holidays coming. If the strike ends over the weekend, we will be able to breath a bit.
Crude prices jumped higher with some additional unrest in the Middle East and the announcement of a possible China/US trade deal. However, any further movement higher has been tempered with skepticism on a true deal with China. I continue to see WTI crude trading in a yo-yo pattern between $55-58/barrel until after the OPEC meeting in the beginning of December.
Retail prices on gasoline and diesel moved slightly higher this week with the upward movement in crude prices. Inventories are in good shape. I don’t expect any major blowouts in price before Thanksgiving Day travel.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to give us a call.
Best regards,
Jon Crawford