Here’s an interesting fact that pretty much sums up the American economy of the past year: Ford is rehiring. For their factory that makes F-150s. Because now, with gas down around $2.25 per gallon, people are buying pickup trucks again.
Apparently, a month is enough to make people forget four-dollar gas, and to assume that four-dollar gas will not return. Buyers and sellers are developing very short memories.
Daily Dow swings in the $300-$500 range have become so common in the stock market (such jumps happened on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week) that we don’t even blink any more when we read about them. No one, it seems, is thinking past tomorrow.
That’s causing a lot of people to lose. There are very few winners in these up-and-down markets. Other, cooler heads, who are thinking past the daily returns, are taking the steps now which will benefit them down the longer road.
Long term factors are a powerful force. They always have been. They always will be. And this week, the inevitable shift to winter pricing is having its inevitable effect on natural gas prices. Despite the volatility of other markets, and the continuing drop in oil, natural gas rose steadily this week. The market fundamentals for natural gas may have seemed to be in hibernation for the past few months, but they’re still there, and will be when the economy stabilizes again.
What this means to you. Have you got a long-term plan for your energy? Do you have any idea how you will be managing energy costs in 12 months, 24 months, or longer? Cost Containment Intl., is helping our customers get past short-term thinking. That’s part of how we do business.
Part of the long term will be renewable energy. Looking ahead, the only way to truly hedge your energy costs against volatile fuel markets is to reduce your reliance on them. Green energy, like market fundamentals, is an inevitable part of everyone’s energy future.
A lot of people don’t want to hear about it, or think about it, right now. That’s the short term talking again. Green energy is too expensive. The economy won’t allow it. You can’t afford it right now.
We disagree. There are innovative ideas at work, and Cost Containment is actively involved with them. In fact, this week we got one customer a few kW of solar on their roof as part of a contract that significantly lowered their energy costs. The short-term cost to them for the solar roof? Nothing. If you want to know how we did it, you should give us a call.
We’ll be talking more about new approaches to renewable energy in future newsletters.