Among all the chaos in markets these past days has been one that is of particular importance to the trucking industry – the price of oil and the price of diesel have collapsed.
This may sound like nothing but a good thing for the trucking sector, but as are many things, it’s complicated. Drilling Deep host John Kingston is joined by FreightWaves’ Sultan of SONAR Zach Strickland to discuss his work on the correlation between diesel prices and freight rates. It’s not what you might think.
Noble1 suggests SMART truck drivers should UNITE & collectively cut out the middlemen from picking truck driver pockets ! UNITE , CONQUER , & YOU'LL PROSPER ! IMHO
March 10 2020
Quote from :
Does hand sanitiser actually kill coronavirus? Here’s everything you need to know
“The confusion around hand sanitisers is that there are certain viruses and diseases that cannot be eradicated by using alcohol gels, but can be by proper hand washing.
Norovirus and Colostridum Difficile, or C-diff, are common in hospital settings. In the case of these infections, many hospitals remove hand sanitiser from infected wards, prompting people to wash their hands rather than use the ineffective alcohol gels.
Alocholic gels do kill some viruses and bacteria, but since Covid-19 is a new disease, no one can be completely sure that it will kill all of that virus off of your hands.”
End quote .
Draw your own conclusion .
That being said , from my perspective “science” does not have the answer to all things . Scientists have made their fair share of mistakes as has traditional medicine . Many “diseases” have been “cured” without scientific approval nor scientific study . Many “natural” things and ways have been discovered , used , and applied with success . Many more are also being discovered as we progress throughout our existence . This is not to say that traditional medicine or traditional medical practitioners is quackery , however, it should be entwined with a holistic approach in my humble opinion .
People should not panic . People should search to learn and understand instead .
Be vigilant and wise .
Best of luck !
Noble1 suggests SMART truck drivers should UNITE & collectively cut out the middlemen from picking truck driver pockets ! UNITE , CONQUER , & YOU'LL PROSPER ! IMHO
I found an interesting article that brushes up a little on the “herd mentality” concerning the current consumer essential goods panic buying .
I tend to see this sort of herd mentality on a regular basis in the financial markets as well as the inverse related to panic selling . Therefore I thought it to be interesting to quote it here a little .
Quote :
titled:
Here’s why people are panic buying and stockpiling toilet paper to cope with coronavirus fears
Here is one main part in the article that I find relevant to what we tend to see in stock markets .
Quote:
“When people are stressed their reason is hampered, so they look at what other people are doing. If others are stockpiling it leads you to engage in the same behavior,” he said. “People see photos of empty shelves and regardless of whether it’s rational it sends a signal to them that it’s the thing to do.”
End quote
I adore market psychology . In fact it’s emotions that moves the markets not rationality . The recent overvalued highs that we’ve seen and the irrational buying late in the cycle towards its peak was done based on the herd mentality aka irrational emotions . Some of us warned that it was on the edge of reversing and would entail a tremendous drop in price , on Crude oil as well no matter what the media was reporting and before the coronavirus breakout .
Now we’re seeing the same irrational herd mentality in consumer buying due to panic based on a virus . Rather than to rationally step back from the “crowd” mentality and observe and question logically , people are acting on emotion “following” and applying the herd mentality . The herd needs to feel a sense of control and that they belong and not on their own .
They are buying toilette paper like if it was going out of style ??? Why ? For 3 psychological reasons from my perspective . 1, They view it as a “cleansing” item . 2, It’s “valuable” to them , 3, They “fear lacking” a cleansing valuable item they need not only due to the coronavirus but due to their evaporating monetary portfolio capital gains . That being said , I don’t really care why they are buying out of panic . What I do care about knowing is who is going to gain from their irrational behavior . Consumer staples , healthcare , and utilities , that’s who !
Who else ? Trucking transportation divisions that cater to those sectors(essentials & necessities) ! Most in the trucking industry know that there are seasonal cycles . March tends to pick up from the slack that came from after the winter holiday season . So there’s no surprise in the freight increase . However , this panic buying is giving it an extra boost . Yes it’s a temporary boost . However, irrationality pays off if you’re on the right side of the coin .
The current psychological herd mentality is buying up excess necessities due to panic which caters to sectors that tend to outperform other sectors during economic contractions(recessions) while giving transportation a boost . I went out on a limb and predicted that between the last quarter in 2020 & the first quarter in 2021 the transportation sector ie: trucking industry would likely be out of its recession and commencing an early recovery or be on the edge of doing so while NBER declares a full blown economic recession .
Consumers are in a panic not only due to the coronavirus in general , but also due to the fact the gains in their portfolio’s are taking a huge hit in the current market crash . That’s a double whammy feeding their panic .They fear for their health as well as for their monetary stability . Add both of these together and it’s the perfect recipe for a sharp market debacle/crash . The debacle/crash was forecasted . The cause wasn’t unless one had a crystal ball .
Crude’s debacle on the other hand was forecasted as well as the cause being a glut before the coronavirus outbreak. The CV outbreak and Opec’s intention to increase production simply adds to the glut which already exists . However, Opec can change their mind .
If memory doesn’t fail me I believe the Saudi’s cost to produce a barrel of oil is under $10 between $3 & $5 and approximately $5 more to ship it . So perhaps around $8 produced, shipped & landed . However, they can hedge it to pennies on the dollar if not zero . They’re also “insiders, LOL ! Speculatively speaking , that would imply that they could have been ,or increased a ,short position before announcing their intentions about increasing production .
In my humble opinion ……….