Wednesday, July 26, 2023

The House Of Cards Begins To Fall -- July 26, 2023

Locator: 45212POL. 

Link here.

Patriots?

But, after all, he is a lawyer.

Was Joe Biden a used car salesman at one time?

Meanwhile, Hunter Biden's plea deal may be falling apart. The judge won't sign off on it as is. Link here.

Reuters Tech -- July 26, 2023

Locator: 45211TECH.

Germany to take a page from the Biden playbook:

US auto manufacturers join hands, circle wagons:

Link here.

The announcement is short on details, but this is what we have. Look at what is buried in the last paragraph! Yup, Tesla wins again.

There are currently just under 8,700 direct-current fast-charging stations in the U.S. and Canada with nearly 36,000 charging plugs, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Fast chargers can get a battery to 80% of its capacity in 20 minutes to one hour, making them optimal for travel corridors and in some cases comparable to a gasoline fill-up. {LOL -- comparable to five minutes for full refueling an ICE[
They’re much quicker than 240-volt “Level 2” chargers that can take hours to get a battery to a full charge.
The new network is expected to have 10 to 20 charging plugs per station, meaning there would be a minimum of 1,500 stations and a maximum of about 3,000. [Compare the footprint required for 20 charging plugs with multiple cars in line, pulling in every three to five minutes.]
Tesla’s network, with the largest number of fast chargers in North America, has 2,050 stations and more than 22,000 plugs in the U.S. and Canada, the DOE says.
Most interesting: The network formed by the seven automakers would be public and open to all electric vehicle owners. It will have connectors for both Tesla’s North American Charging Standard plugs as well as the Combined Charging System plugs used by other automakers.

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The Book Club

F. Scott Fitzgerald: Bloom's BioCritiques, Harold Bloom, c. 2003. 813F.

Notes.

Most Interesing Graph This Week? July 26, 2023

Locator: 45210ECON.

Link here. 

TAM: total addressable / available market.

From an earlier post:

Daimler Truck: forecasts "sunny condition," link here.
As a reminder, I'm very bullish on Daimler Truck as a company executing very well in a tough environment. I'm accumulating shares in Daimler but making no recommendation. My investment horizon is a rolling 30-year investment. Will the US have a robust economy over the next 30 years? Will trucking remain part of the US economy. Will the west coast -- Washington, Oregon, California -- hold to the 2030 / 2035 EV mandate?

In reply, from a reader who knows this sector much better than I do:

I agree that Daimler is a good investment, especially now that there is some progress made in suppliers furnishing parts and chips to assemble the trucks.
I see a rat in the wood pile in pricing.
Previous to Covid , prices were stable for many years with small increases each year.
Supplier interruptions caused a lot of delays in delivery as well as higher costs. The result is a much more expensive truck, as much as $100,00.00 more than a 2019 model of the same manufacturer. Supply is still a problem as deliveries are still in the 6 month to 1 year timeframe.
As Covid progressed, freight rates increased which covered the increase costs of equipment.
Rates have now been returned to pre-Covid levels but equipment costs have not.
The new proposed emissions regulations will add $25,000.00 (manufacturer’s estimates) to new power units. This will cause a jump in demand of units before the new reg’s are in effect.
Electric units are not yet priced as most are experimental or lease only deliveries. This financial imbalance has not yet gone through the transportation system’s finances. That effect should increase rates but competition has kept them low. The interest rate increases has slowed down business and over 15,000 trucking companies have closed because of this.
Most all are small operations so there has been no real loss in capacity to increase rates.
Transportation’s costs vs income is going to suffer, how much and when will soon be answered. This will have a huge effect on the new truck sales, especially after the new reg’s take place in 2027.
Keep close watch on the whole industry as stock prices will become extremely volatile. There should be a lot of dips to buy on and big gains to capitalize on. Good luck, keep watch of the changes

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The Book Club

Emily Dickinson: Bloom's BioCritiques, Harold Bloom, c. 2003.

Notes.

EVs -- GM Cruise -- UK 2030 Mandate Holds -- Daimler -- July 26, 2023

Locator: 45209EVS.

Chevy Cruise, update, The Verge, a couple of months ago, April 25, 2023. Right around the corner: 2030.



Is the UK getting wobbly: Rigzone, on UK's ban on petrol cars from 2030.

The UK government vowed to stick to its ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 in an attempt to reassure businesses and investors in the electric vehicle industry after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had appeared to waver on the policy in recent days.
Sunak on Monday declined to commit to the ban when asked by broadcasters about it, and another minister, Andrew Mitchell, had also cast doubt on the deadline. But Housing Secretary Michael Gove on Tuesday replied “yes” when asked by Times Radio if the timing of the ban was immovable. Asked later by Sky News if that was an “absolute guarantee,” Gove again replied: “Yes.”

Daimler Truck: forecasts "sunny condition," link here. As a reminder, I'm very bullish on Daimler Truck as a company executing very well in a tough environment. I'm accumulating shares in Daimler but making no recommendation. My investment horizon is a rolling 30-year investment. Will the US have a robust economy over the next 30 years? Will trucking remain part of the US economy. Will the west coast -- Washington, Oregon, California -- hold to the 2030 / 2035 EV mandate?

So, on the sunny side, Daimler projected revenue growth in its major markets by 2030: North America and Europe — 10% higher in each; Brazil, up 20%; and India, a whopping 70% improvement as more of the most populous nation on earth industrializes.

Equally bright forecasts for market share by 2030 followed: North America, 40% today to 45% in 2030; India 8% to 14%; Japan 23% to 25%.

Service revenue is expected to grow 50% between 2025 and 2030, made up of service and parts (60%), zero-emission vehicles (30%) and digital services (10%).

Autonomous vehicles — which Daimler is developing through Freightliner, its independent subsidiary Torc Robotics and with Waymo Via — should contribute more than $3.6 billion revenue in 2030, with greater than $1.1 billion in earnings before interest and taxes.

“Sunny is basically what we see in two core markets: North America and Europe,” Goetz said. “On the other hand, due to the fact that we are a cyclical industry, on the lower side where it’s been raining or there’s a thunderstorm outside, we still have decent profitability.”

Two Wells Coming Off Confidential List Today -- WTI Holds Above $79? July 26, 2023

Locator: 45208B.

Weekly EIA petroleum report, link here:

  • US crude oil in storage: is now 2% above the five-year average. Shaking my head.
  • US refiners operating full out, at 93.4% capacity.
  • distillate fuel inventories at 14% below their five-year average, but we've been "here" for "ages." In other words, status quo, no change.
  • jet fuel supplied hardly moved.
  • WTI unchanged after the report was released;

Saudi, oil imported by US: four conscecutive months in which Saudi imports are lower each month compared to same one month earlier. Happens occasionally but when Saudi imports are this low, it's even more remarkable. Link here.

Mars crude: something going on? And, here.


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Back to the Bakken

WTI: $79.10 -- a pleasant surprise.

Thursday, July 27, 2023: 86 for the month; 194 for the quarter, 449 for the year 
None.

Wednesday, July 26, 2023: 86 for the month; 194 for the quarter, 449 for the year
39509 conf, CLR, Vance 4-14H,
39476 conf, Ovintiv, Newman 150-97-21-16-6HR, 

RBN Energy: pipeline expansions key to unlocking second wave of LNG exports.

The bulk of the second wave of U.S. LNG export projects will be situated along a small stretch of the Gulf Coast, from Port Arthur at the Texas-Louisiana border to the Mississippi River in southeastern Louisiana. Three of these projects — Golden Pass LNG, Port Arthur LNG and Plaquemines LNG — are under construction there and will add nearly 7 Bcf/d of new gas demand by 2028, and others could reach a final investment decision (FID) in the coming months or years. That’s prompted a frenzy of natural gas pipeline projects vying to serve this growing demand center, whether by moving incremental supply into the area or providing “last mile” delivery to the terminals. These pipeline expansions — and how well the incremental capacity, geography and timing align with liquefaction capacity additions — will drive the pace of overall gas demand growth and how the Lower 48 gas market will balance in the coming years.