WOW. The premiums are taking it on the chin. But ive always said, tough to break the $300 ton barrier, psychological.
I have heard that some of the Okie products were tough to come by as this past winter went on and the supplier was looking for money up front which was unusual as well. This was predicted 6 weeks ago and unfortunately it has come true. Glad to hear that some of the Okie line should remain in production.
I'm not sure about that one G , the few dealers that I know have to pay up front before the load is shipped to them , maybe different for some of the Big Pellet Houses , I don't know .
My guess is that the dealers didn't need anymore product , already had enough inventory . If the dealer has to pay for the product up front with borrowed $$ and it's not moving , not good for them , just my thoughts .
Cant remember exactly what types of Okies he had a hard time getting, but he knew that they were in trouble at the plant.
Holy chit, I could build a hella Pellet tree house & Fort w/ all those stacks there. Think they would mind?
Like all good little pellet piggies, I'll bet you bought early. As i recall you had all your okie pellets in stock by July last year.
Nope. We do attempt to plan ahead....some don't. I can't help what others don't do. We did bring in later product as well. Sometimes it pays to be proactive, and sometimes, less often, to be reactive. If a dealer sells any kind of quantity, it's pretty difficult to bring in and deliver product late in the year when everyone wants it. Pretty sure just-in-time ordering does not work well in this business. As we have also seen, you can't use your customers' money to capitalize your pellet operation....that tends to backfire......what was that operation in CT that the AG is after these days?
I agree, JIT buying doesn't work, which is why this year will be challenging. A dealer with a large customer base has to be delivering product in May, June, July and Sept. Given the state of the market, I'm not sure that is going to happen this season. But early indication is that retail and distribution channels are under bought. There is only so much equipment available to deliver product. Their may be product at the mills but how do you get it all to market when everyone wants to buy in October. I still maintain there isn't a pellet mill that can sell product to a retailer to enable that retailer to sell for 199 per ton. ( the number most of the box stores went to) There simply isn't enough information available to the dealer for him to take a position in the market and feel comfortable. The last few years I think most dealers had an idea where the market was. And they could make good business decisions. this year, not so much.
