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]

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

The second half of your AI-provided answer is the reason. Specifically the second bullet point.

We could have a whole separate thread dedicated to the war on fossil fuels.

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

Spent the afternoon listening to Hannity while working out in the garage. I know, there are better things to listen to on the radio.

Anyway, same spiel as it has been every two years. "Most important election of our lifetime". He spent some time going over the President's accomplishments including the booming economy.

What was missing was the impact at the consumer level with high prices and rising interest rates.

 

[Davey Crockett]

 

[Watandar]

I need to do a mortgage refi in a couple of years as I have a Adjustable mortgage right now and wanted to lock in a fixed 15 or 20 year but these rates are absolutely terrible

 

[Davey Crockett]

I know, there are better things to listen to on the radio.

The 11:00am Agricultural Report?

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

I need to do a mortgage refi in a couple of years as I have a Adjustable mortgage right now and wanted to lock in a fixed 15 or 20 year but these rates are absolutely terrible

In the early 80s, when we had our first house, mortgage rates were as high as 11-12%. In some places they were as high as 14%.

 

[Watandar]

In the early 80s, when we had our first house, mortgage rates were as high as 11-12%. In some places they were as high as 14%.

Housing prices were much lower than. I don't see how houses can be sold at today's prices with mortgage rates of 12% to 14%. Even the 7.45% for the current 30-year is horrible.

30-year fixed mortgage rate jumps sharply Thursday to 7.45%

The 30-year fixed rate surged to 7.45%, the highest level since April 2024 as bonds sold off and yields rose.

www.cnbc.com

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

Housing prices were much lower than. I don't see how houses can be sold at today's prices with mortgage rates of 12% to 14%. Even the 7.45% for the current 30-year is horrible.

30-year fixed mortgage rate jumps sharply Thursday to 7.45%

The 30-year fixed rate surged to 7.45%, the highest level since April 2024 as bonds sold off and yields rose.

www.cnbc.com

Spot on regarding today's housing prices.

 

[Zhuge Liang]

 

[ghazi52]

How the oil capital of the US welcomed a solar power boom​

Nathalie Jimenez
BBC Business reporter

Steve Cargil
Farmer Steve Cargil is now paid $200,000 a year for hosting a solar farm on his land
Steve Cargil's family has farmed the flat, dry land around Uvalde, a small city in southwest Texas, since 1953.

Cargil, 67, had always assumed that one of his three children would eventually take it over, the way he had from his father.

But that assumption took a hit one night in 2018 after a violent hailstorm.

Cargil and his son, Ryan, had spent months nursing crops of cabbage and onions to harvest. Then a storm rolled through and destroyed them overnight.

"I remember my son saying, 'Dad, I just don't know if I can do this. You do everything right, and we work so hard, and you come out one morning and it's all gone'," Cargil says.

Cargil's farm was at risk of ending with him, he says, with none of his three children wanting to farm full time. For years, that left him wondering what would happen to the land, and to his own retirement, since farmers rarely have a pension to fall back on.

Then in 2001 Cargil signed a deal to lease 600 acres of his land, about a quarter of the total, to a company called OCI Energy which built a vast solar farm.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think that a solar project would be on my farm," Cargil says. Looking back now, he calls it a blessing.

The lease, which pays Cargil $200,000 (£150,000) a year, has let him keep his farm running through a punishing drought. He has been able to concentrate his water irrigation allowance on the land he still farms, and he has stopped losing sleep over rises in the price of things such as diesel and fertiliser. "It's changed my life."

Texas, which remains the largest oil producer in the US, earlier this year overtook California to become the country's biggest generator of electricity from solar farms.

And in March of last year, more electricity was produced by solar in Texas than from coal for the first time, according to the US Energy Information Administration.