Tuesday, February 6, 2018 -- US Northeast Becomes A Net Exporter Of Natural Gas To Canada -- RBN Energy

GM: strong demand for pickup trucks and SUVS pushed operating profit to a record for the fourth quarter. The largest U.S. auto maker in terms of sales said fourth-quarter operating profit excluding one-time factors rose 19% to $3.1 billion, or $1.65 per share, easily hurdling the $1.38 average analysts’ estimate. Revenue slipped 5.5% to $37.7 billion, higher than the average analyst forecast of $36.5 billion, bolstered by strong sales of sport utilities in North America.

Toyota: on track for record profit this year, but due to weak dollar (currently movements) and one-time US tax changes. Without those special items, Toyota would be projecting slightly lower operating profit.

BP: posts first quarterly loss in more than a year, due to special items and in the long run, BP says things are fine. BP's fourth-quarter earnings increased five-fold as it benefited from higher oil prices, increased production and lower costs, reports PennEnergy.

Trucking: we've talked about this for the past year. Now the headline from The WSJ: trucking companies ordered most big rigs in twelve (12) years. A nationwide shortage of available trucks has sent shipping costs soaring, with retailers and manufacturers in some cases paying over 30% above typical rates to book last-minute transportation for cargo. Trucking companies, buoyed by strong demand and flush with cash following the recent tax overhaul, are accelerating plans to replace or expand their fleets.

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The Apple Page

Apple HomePod review here. Great sound, not so smart. The HomePod sounds far better than the popular smart speakers from Amazon, Google—and even Sonos.

Apple iPad: remains world's most popular tablet as Apple outsold Samsung and Amazong combined. 

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Back to the Bakken

Active rigs:

$63.28↓	2/6/2018	02/06/2017	02/06/2016	02/06/2015	02/06/2014
Active Rigs	58	40	42	137	191

RBN Energy: US northeast becomes a net exporter of natural gas to Canada. (Meanwhile, Massachusetts imports natural gas from Russia -- previously reported -- but I digress.)

In 2017, the U.S. Northeast sent more natural gas to Canada than it received, making the region a net exporter for the first time on an annual average basis. That marks another milestone in the ongoing flow reversal happening in the Northeast, led by the growth of local gas supply from the Marcellus/Utica shales.

For now, the region still relies on Canadian gas during the highest winter demand months, but imports from Canada in all the other months are increasingly unnecessary as Northeast gas production balloons further. Today, we look at evolving dynamics at the U.S.-Canadian border in the Northeast.

This is Part 2 of a series updating our analysis of changing gas flows along the U.S.-Canada border, a topic we first covered in-depth in a blog series back in 2013. We began with a macro view of total U.S. gas flows across the Canadian border. As we noted, Canadian gas production last year rebounded to the highest level in 10 years, spurred on by rising gas demand from gas-fired power generation, as well as the oil sands production in Alberta, which depends on large volumes of steam.

At the same time, Canadian producers are facing ever-increasing competition from soaring U.S. gas supply, led by enormous growth in the Marcellus/Utica shales in the Northeast. Not only is that supply growth continuing to put the squeeze on any remaining inbound flows of supply to the Northeast from other regions, including Canada, but as inbound pipeline capacity is reversed and new capacity built, it is increasingly overtaking market share of demand in other U.S. regions, as well as north of the border in Ontario, where gas-fired power generation demand has been growing.