THE DIESEL CRUNCH: PART I of II

                                                                                                                  

Diesel is the blue-collar fuel. Demand and prices for jet fuel and gasoline slump after summer, but diesel is still smoking away in the highways, fields and factories. And the diesel price, already high, is set to rise even faster as the northern hemisphere heads into winter.

Diesel is powering the tanks, trucks and missile launchers of both sides in Ukraine. And following its trail may lead us to at least one of the causes of the next financial crisis.

In Hollywood or in Europe, electric cars are what roll up to the red carpet. Since the Volkswagen emissions scandal in 2015, diesel cars’ market share in Europe has declined by about two-thirds, to about 16% of total new auto sales.

But diesel is just as essential as ever, really more so as electric grids have become less reliable and back-up generators are installed behind every data center and public building. Your farmers use diesel tractors, and the harvest is carried in a diesel truck to a diesel-powered train which will take it to be processed and packaged.

Last year, 95.8% percent of new trucks sold in Europe had diesel engines, while electric trucks’ share is only 0.5%. And this after we’ve entered our second decade of the Energiewende, the energy transition when Europe would junk fossil fuels and nuclear and go all-renewable.

Unfortunately, getting your hands on a tank of diesel these days is like trying to get a plumber or Saturday night. “Tomorrow doesn’t look good—- how about February? March would be better, really, ‘cause I could come myself rather than sending my assistant.”