must respectfully disagree, other than the fact that in NW jersey there is a lot of pellets (don't live there....I just don't know). I've not seen a shortage like this since around Hurricane Katrina days. Blame who you want, but this is coming from a retailer who orders, unloads, and sells pellets 12 months a year, not just a few. Logistically speaking, we have to, because we simply cant unload and deliver our whole years' worth in 3 or 4 months of time. Now, not to point fingers, but this year the end-users seem to have waited until it got cold, or just before, to order their pellets. I don't know who said it somewhere on this forum, but there is an apt analogy here. A gas station can sell 10,000 gals or so per week.....but if everyone comes in on Monday morning, its simply not do-able. As for the price of oil, etc., if I knew the answer as to where it would bottom out, where prices would go, etc., I wouldn't be posting here, instead, you'd be reading about me in Forbes, and I would be enjoying the fruits of my labors in a warmer climate, somewhere on the water, in my yacht. I like to think that as winter progresses, the pellet panic will subside (closer to spring), and there might be more supply. But that doesn't really help us in the short term, does it? Fact is, many folks are simply more comfortable with pellets than oil......for a few reasons. House just seems warmer (and maybe it is), they have their winters' worth of fuel, and don't have to worry about what their next oil delivery will cost, etc. Even though I am a pellet retailer, I don't think anyone intentionally created the shortage that some areas of the country now see. Even with buying quite literally thousands of tons this year, 12 months per year, we still cannot get enough. Maybe if folks would just buy ahead of time, like spring/summer, this rush might be better alleviated, also additionally keeping the price down?
Last time I seen it this bad was the 2001/02 season. I got buds burning horse bedding while they wait for TSC and HD to get some pellets in. Lowes hasn't said when and if they do expect a shipment. One pellet dealer has shut off any new customers and is limiting bags. Another is getting them but they go as soon as their trucks start delivering.
Near me it seems the only ones that cannot get pellets are the dealers. HD and Tractor Supply has loads of them. Is it possible that the box stores are putting the squeeze on the local pellet dealers this year? What better way to drive them out then low prices and buying up their supply?
Seems the only pellets the local dealers are getting are from the west or southern area(okies gold). A lot of the normal brands have been limited to MIA from the get go.
I will be watching how all this plays out. I make routine stops at HD and TSC and will be keeping an eye on the inventory situation. But as of now the only shortage is at the dealers. And it seems they have it bad.
My local dealers posted prices: 2014 Wood pellet Early Buy Program -- Prices good through October 31, 2014 Type Premium BTU Ash Price per Ton Price per bag 1/2 Ton Pickup Pallet Size CanawickHardwood8000 BTU .61% AshAs quantities become available$7.10$165.001 Ton Energex American PremiumHardwood8650 BTU .50% AshAs quantities become available$7.00$163.001 Ton New England HardwoodHardwood Blend8200 BTU .40% AshAs quantities become available$7.00$162.501 Ton LG Granules**Softwood8500 BTU .50% AshAs quantities become available$7.40$172.501 Ton 1.5 Ton $457.50 Energex Golden Super PremiumHardwood8650 BTU less than .50% AshAs quantities become available P W I/LogikHardwood8500 BTU .35% AshAs quantities become available$7.50$175.001.1 Ton 55 bags $341.00 Geneva PelletsHardwood8400 BTU .50% AshAs quantities become available Vermont WoodSoftwood86OO BTU .23% AshAs quantities become available CorinthSoft/Hardwood Blend8500 BTU .50% AshAs quantities become available$6.96$161.501 Ton North Idaho Energy PelletsDouglas Fir8760 BTU .25% AshAs quantities become available Maine WoodsHardwood Blend8400 BTU .50% AshAs quantities become available BlazersDouglas fir8900 BTU .16% AshAs quantities become available Energex PremiumSoft/Hardwood Blend8700 BTU .60% AshAs quantities become available Comfort/CubexHardwood8900 BTU .40% AshAs quantities become available Purcell PelletsDouglas Fir Mix8700 BTU .30% AshAs quantities become available Super Premium LG GranulesSoftwood8700 BTU .35% AshAs quantities become available
I don't think its a secret that the box stores put a squeeze on the independents every year, really. Why bring in pellets and stock them if you simply cant make money, or worse, LOSE money in doing so?
TSC has at least 30 ton sitting at their store here. Lowes has a good amount last I was there. I just bought four ton of softies the local guy got me from Curran. I have not checked at the local small stove store who sells pellets.
I guess maybe its a matter of what one views as "a lot"......we deliver on average 50 tons per day, so, 30 tons isn't a lot at all. A typical delivery of pellets will be between 22 and 30 tons. Last Wednesday we received 26 tons of NEWPs....which sold out in 90 mins. To me, when I sell them that fast and cannot replenish inventory at a corresponding rate, its a shortage. Merriam-Webster, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shortage , defines shortage as a "state in which there is not enough of something that is needed"....so, when folks are calling looking for products which I normally have, but cant seem to get enough presently, I see that as a shortage. Locally then, there certainly is a shortage, but we aren't out of pellets. We still have Purcell and North Idaho, but some folks still don't want a softwood, and they certainly don't want to pay over $300/ton for "just a softwood"....go figure...
Lol, that a where I had previously done all my Spring deals. Unfortunately, unless there was a mistake, the Vermont's were about $290 during the spring special. I was hoping you got them somewhere else. Last year I bought them, four tons for $275 IIRC
Same here, I have been buying and burning primarily Vermonts bought from Robbins for the past 4 seasons. This year, their early buy price was $295/ton BTW I just checked the price sheet they mailed to me. I did not go through them this year because the price was just too much and I really wanted to try some different brands for once. Also, they stopped taking orders for Vermonts very shortly after they announced the early buy pricing, due to the production issues VWP had earlier in the year. Birddog, suspect you must be one of a small handful that successfully got an order in for them. For almost all of the brands they sell, they have been in the "As Quantities Become Available" state across the board since August.
I noticed the same thing. If you calculate the per bag price when bought by the ton vs. the per bag price when bought as individual bags, it's an extra $1.60 per bag. I get charging a little more for the labor they pay the kids for manually loading the bags in my truck (which I always help them with BTW), but an extra $1.60 per bag, really? The really funny thing is, even though I buy a whole ton and pay the lower price, those kids still end up loading them into my truck a bag at a time because I can't carry a full ton! Kinda diminishes the argument for charging extra to account for the extra labor...
Well it's official, my order of country boy white lighting - no happening.. That was going to be my high octane. Ray
