They are indeed a major supplier.
From Mansfield, October 25:
Supply Alert – October 25, 2022
East Coast fuel markets are facing diesel supply constraints due to market economics and tight inventories.
Poor pipeline shipping economics and historically low diesel inventories are combining to cause shortages in various markets throughout the Southeast. These have been occurring sporadically, with areas like Tennessee seeing particularly acute challenges.
Back in May 2022, diesel prices rose by $1/gal and supply dried up throughout the Southeast. Over the past few weeks, market volatility has begun to echo the challenges seen in April 2022, as we covered in FUELSNews on Oct 11 and Oct 14. Like before, markets are now seeing extremely high prices in the Northeast along with supply outages along the Southeast.
In many areas, actual fuel prices are currently 30-80 cents higher than the posted market average, because supply is tight. Usually the “low rack” posters can sell many loads of fuel before running out of supply; now, they only have one or two loads. That means fuel suppliers have to pull from higher cost options, at a time when low-high spreads are much wider than normal. At times, carriers are having to visit multiple terminals to find supply, which delays deliveries and strains local trucking capacity....
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And October 27:
Diesel Crisis Continues – What 25 Days of Supply Means for Fleets
If you follow oil markets even tangentially, you’ve likely heard that diesel inventories in the US are now at the lowest level since 2008, with just 25 diesel days of supply left. That’s significant because diesel is the fuel that drives the global economy – powering trucks, construction equipment, generators, heaters, and more. A sudden supply outage or a big surge in demand – such as panic buying, cold weather, holiday sales, or industry-specific factors – can cause a supply/demand imbalance, leading the market to pull more product out of inventory to make up the difference. But what if that product isn’t there?
Diesel markets operate on a “just-in-time” basis – pipeline shipments arrive every few days, bringing enough supply to meet local demand in local markets such as Birmingham or Richmond. But a disruption forces markets to turn to inventory. US diesel markets tend to be comfortable and liquid when inventories are around 35-40 days; 30 days of supply begins to get tight. At 25 days of supply, there’s critically low fuel available when a crisis hits. Keep in mind, those inventories include products held at refineries and en route on the pipeline – so a large chunk of that supply is days or weeks away from the market where it will be consumed.
The East Coast is receiving especially high focus because it relies on just two pipelines and is supplied by an area (Gulf Coast refiners) that can easily re-route supplies to other countries at the right price...
....MUCH MORE
Although Mansfield has every reason to talk their book, these communications are going to their customers, some of very long standing. I can't see them blowing smoke at someone who has been with them for 30 or more years.
