September 22, 2007 – 7:13 am
Traders seem to be chewing their fingernails wondering what to do next. There are still jitters over tropical storms in the US Gulf Coast region (whats new at this time of the year?). Texaco have just emailed me to say their delivery fleet is unable to cope with any more orders until further notice (we dont use them,we have our own haulage in house).
The next real event that will be a pain in the wallet is the Chancellors imminent duty hike of 2ppl due on the 1st of October. This is almost certianly the cause of Texaco’s transport hiatus as customers stock up in advance.
It must be emphasised that there IS NO DUTY ON KEROSENE USED FOR DOMESTIC HEATING so dont panic and cause a run on this product. It applies to PETROL-DERV (ROAD DIESEL)-GAS OIL (RED DIESEL) AND HEAVY FUEL OIL.
REPEAT THERE IS NO DUTY ON KEROSENE IT WILL NOT BE AFFECTED BY THE DUTY HIKE ON OTHER FUELS.
According to our trade association, the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers there is some doubt in view of the record high prices if the duty hike will proceed. No announcement has been made by the Treasury so my money says it will.
Taxes and price rises are like the undertaker they get everyone in the end, the rush to stock up is almost certainly a contributory factor driving UK prices at present. On past experience there is often a perverse price decline in the wake of these events. Basically you ”pays your money and takes your choice”.
I am on holiday as of now until the 4th of October, I will be in daily contact with the office and have left Steve to post anything of significance in my absence.
September 22, 2007 – 6:24 am
Dont really do holidays, being so fortunate to live in such a beautiful place it feels like a permanent holiday anyway, besides holidays interfere with work.
However tomorrow we are off to Scotland, never been there before but am under orders so here we go. Actually it is going to work out ok because one of Consols fishing customers, a family partnership, have bought a magnificent modern 18 metre twin rig trawler to replace their old one which has served them well for 18 years.
They take delivery on the 1st of October in Buckie (a port on the Moray Firth), it will be grand to be there to wish them well. The new vessel is a huge investment in the future and bucks the negativity that has become so endemic in Newlyn.
The doomongers have been forecasting the imminent demise of the Cornish fishing industry recently as a sucession of ageing vessels, well past their sell by date, have been decomissioned. Quotas have been blamed and while a blunt instrument that has wreaked havoc they are not the whole problem.
Over many years there has been a serious lack of investment in efficient modern tonnage and the quota to make vessels viable. This has led to the awful spiral of negativity and despair which has become a self fulfilling prophesy.
It is highly significant that in the midst of all this a handful of committed highly skilled fishermen who are also very shrewed businessmen are quietly prospering. The saddest thing is that the majority of these operators choose to send fish landed alongside Newlyn fishmarket to Plymouth market to be sold.
This is not good for Newlyn or indeed west Cornwall but encapsulates the serious problems caused by a lack of confidence in Newlyns port administration at present.
These issues will hopefully be rectified so that Newlyn can once again justifiably claim to be the top fishing port it formerly was. Rebuilding prosperity will trickle down into the community at large. The imminent arrival of the new Crystal Sea SS118 will hopefully mark a turning point in Newlyn’s fortunes and will,hopefully, be followed by a few more vessels of this calbre.
September 19, 2007 – 12:07 pm
We used to supply the local council operated landfill site just up the road. Never made a fortune out of it but it was easy work and we were paid promptly. Earlier this year the job was taken over by a continental waste management outfit. We were asked to continue to supply but informed that payment terms would in future be 90 days from month end. This effectively means 4 months credit which is a no no so we declined the offer.
We subsequently discovered that the job has gone to the worlds biggest energy company (they used to be oil companies when I was young) famous for putting tigers into petrol tanks. The service must be a bit iffy because we have on a couple of occasions had to make emegency deliveries (for cash at a premium rate ) when deliveries have failed to arrive.
Recently had a chat with one of the landfill managers in the village who was moaning about the fuel delivery issue. He told me that to arrange a delivery it is necessary to phone a European call centre in Hungary to get an American energy supplier to deliver to a French company operating in Cornwall. (Its a pretty safe bet that they dont get 90+ days credit either). Then its a matter of keeping fingers crossed to see if the delivery actually turns up in time.
This is brilliant news to me because we actually make excellent money on the emergency deliveries, the manager makes a phone call to us 500 yards away and subject to COD we can guarantee delivry from Falmouth in a maximum of 3 hours.
I rest my case!!!
