US Economy - News, Updates and Discussion

[Falcon29]

He's more then self sabatoging now. I'm not sure what Trump and Trump administration want anymore ? Diesel prices, tarrifs and ME war are hurting the shipping and logistics industry, farming, trucking , the value of the Dollar and more.

The regular gas prices may not seem crazy to Europeans but Europeans drive small fuel efficient vehicles and drive much less. Americans drive more as it's a massive country and lots of them drive big vehicles (I don't see need for that ) but they basically need at least $60 to fill up. For a lot of them it's closer to $90 because of big trucks and SUVs they drive so it's hurting regular consumers too.

 

[The SC]

 

[Watandar]

A quite detailed article about a 90 day diesel export ban that could supposed go into effect the end of this week.

Although it can push diesel prices down in the short term due to greater supply, it can raise prices in the long term as refineries cut diesel production.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/23/white-house-ban-diesel-01089294

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

A quite detailed article about a 90 day diesel export ban that could supposed go into effect the end of this week.

Although it can push diesel prices down in the short term due to greater supply, it can raise prices in the long term as refineries cut diesel production.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/23/white-house-ban-diesel-01089294

Which it absolutely will.

The issue here is available refining capacity. While the US processes something over 18MM bbls per day of oil and refineries are operating at 98% or so of capacity, that capacity is actually close to 1.5% less than it was in 2024. The last major refinery to be opened in the US was in 1976.

To meet the current demands AND lower prices overall, the US would need a refining capacity of 22MM bbls per day. I don't see a lot of organizations getting on board with that idea.

 

[Watandar]

Which it absolutely will.

The issue here is available refining capacity. While the US processes something over 18MM bbls per day of oil and refineries are operating at 98% or so of capacity, that capacity is actually close to 1.5% less than it was in 2024. The last major refinery to be opened in the US was in 1976.

To meet the current demands AND lower prices overall, the US would need a refining capacity of 22MM bbls per day. I don't see a lot of organizations getting on board with that idea.

I was curious about why the US would not have built any more refineries since the 1970's, because demand for oils has only gone up. So AI says that smaller, specialized refineries have indeed been built but no new mega-refinery since 1977. Companies have also been just adding capacity to existing mega-refineries.


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It is mostly a myth, as smaller specialty refineries have opened more recently, but the U.S. has not built a major, full-scale oil refinery with large distillation capacity since the late 1970s. [1, 2]

The Real History

• • Small Refineries Open: According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, smaller units do open. For example, a smaller facility started operating in Galveston, Texas in 2022. [1]
  • The Last Major Plant: The last massive refinery built from scratch with major downstream capacity is Marathon’s plant in Garyville, Louisiana, which opened in 1977. [1, 2]
  • The 1976 Date: People often say 1976 because that is when construction and major permitting for the Garyville plant were largely finalized before it began operations. [1, 2]

Why Companies Do Not Build New Refineries

• • High Costs: Building a new refinery costs billions of dollars.
  • Strict Rules: Getting environmental permits and local approval takes many years.
  • Upgrading Old Plants: Companies prefer to expand and make existing refineries bigger rather than build new ones from the ground up. [1, 2, 3, 4]