Is work going down because we are in a recession?

[DanASM]

One other data point that unfortunately is negative: diesel fuel is down 35% over four months. Usually less responsive to crude oil price and more related to level of trucking activity cross our continent.

Were still at $5/ gal for diesel. Hasnt gone down at all since it rose to these highs. Gas came down a little bit but is right back up in less than a weeks time.

I talked to one of my main metal suppliers today and he said he is happy I am busy as that is not the case for a lot of his customers right now. Must be getting bad out there for some.

 

[red beard]

2023 has been a very good year for my business so far. I've been busier than I would like for most of this year, but I have noticed less RFQs and POs the last couple of weeks. Work is still coming in, but my backlog has been shortening. At this point I wouldn't call it a trend yet. This happens at some point nearly every year.

Most of my customers seem to be doing fine. One in particular is very slow. They design and build material handling systems.

 

[david n]

I have been callin' on a few different used machines...... nice late model stuff...........the thieves(dealers) sellin' seem pretty eager to take offers......even suggesting it on the brokered machines as folks want to move iron................

 

[lucky7]

Were still at $5/ gal for diesel. Hasnt gone down at all since it rose to these highs. Gas came down a little bit but is right back up in less than a weeks time.

I talked to one of my main metal suppliers today and he said he is happy I am busy as that is not the case for a lot of his customers right now. Must be getting bad out there for some.

Would be interested in your location.

 

[DanASM]

Would be interested in your location.

New England, We used to get lots of diesel from Russia directly to ports on the coast. Heating oil in the winter as well. We had high heating bills last winter for sure. 3 tanks at 275 gal each, I think I paid around $4.00/Gal and was waiting for it to go down. Might have paid 4.40 recently for 150 gal.

New England Retail Diesel Price Weekly Analysis: Weekly Retail Gasoline and On-Highway Diesel Prices | YCharts

In depth view into New England Retail Diesel Price including historical data from 1997 to 2024, charts and stats.

ycharts.com

3/14/2022 price of $5.231/ Gal

5/1/2023 price of $4.49/Gal

Gone up to 4.89 - 5.00+ in the past 2 weeks.

My dad drives a 7.3L F350 that gets 12 MPG

 

[the average Joe]

Were still at $5/ gal for diesel. Hasnt gone down at all since it rose to these highs. Gas came down a little bit but is right back up in less than a weeks time.

I talked to one of my main metal suppliers today and he said he is happy I am busy as that is not the case for a lot of his customers right now. Must be getting bad out there for some.

Feels like California prices.

 

[Doug]

Washington state revenues from manufacturing were 95 billion last year. Idaho, 9 billion.
So just a state away, everything is very different.
When I was a kid, rural Idaho was pretty similar to rural Washington, in terms of salaries, real estate prices, and amount of manufacturing.

Politics unfortunately will be playing major roles in states in the near future. Idaho may be a classic example. There was a time Idaho seemed a good place to relocate your business to. Not looking so good now.

Need medical care in Idaho? Good luck with that. Raise a family in the wide open spaces with clean air, yeah. Better hope your children and/or pregnant wife don't need medical care. A current survey of the 117 physicians in Idaho treating problem pregnancies, 75 of them are contemplating leaving the state because recently enacted laws make practising medicine there very risky.