I posted this yesteday in one of the storm threads, and today (Aug 31) the saga continues.  On Tuesday, the refiners in the Houston area stopped distributing dyed diesel fuel.  Dyed diesel is tax-exempt and is used for school districts, government vehicles and boats.  We operate a fuel dock selling to the marine industry and now we cannot get fuel.  Now, when I say "boats", I am not talking about a 20ft ski boat, I am talking about offshore crew boats, shrimp boats, commercial fishing boats and pilot boats.  We have not been able to get any information on why the fuel is being withheld, only that it is "not available."  On Sept 1, the commercial red snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico is scheduled to open.  Then there are the obvious fuel needs for crew boats. etc. for the offshore oil industry.  I do not know what is going on, but soon we may have to buy clear (road diesel) and sell that to our customers.  Oh, there is a 44.4 cents/gallon tax on that and it is not reimbursable.  That is a big hit for a boat that needs 3000 gallons of fuel.

If any arfcommers today are going to eat lunch with any bigshots from Valero, Gatex, Chevron, Exxon, Shell or Texaco, please do me a favor and ask them WTF?  Thanks.

Update:   8 transports  (7500 gallon trucks) of product were released for delivery this afternoon.
That's the good news.  The bad news is that the price was up $.40 a gallon from the Monday price.  

Withheld possibly because they don't have any? I don't know. Maybe because they may need some for the hurricane relief efforts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

There's probably a better use for it than for commercial fishing right now?

Quoted: There's probably a better use for it than for commercial fishing right now?

How would you feel if it was your electricity that was being withheld? Because surely there is a better use for it right now.

I think if an excuse was given it would be easier to deal with.
CH

Quoted: There's probably a better use for it than for commercial fishing right now?

I don't know of a better use for it than pilot boats and offshore crewboats.  We have already stopped sales to yachts, tour boats, and shrimp boats and are trying to save what we have left for what I consider to be more essential businesses.  

Quoted: There's probably a better use for it than for commercial fishing right now?

So taking away someone elses only way to make money and giving it to another person is going to help how?

Most fishing crews rely on what they make in the short seasons they have, taking that away means they are screwed for the year.

The obvious solution is that the DoD wants it for all the trucks and helicopters they are shipping to Louisiana.  Texas is the nearest remaining store of diesel fuel with so many of the Louisiana refineries and tank farms either wrecked or without power and unable to pump.

I would ask can you still get NON dyed fuel ? If so I bet they stop making the tax exempt stuff becuase its faster to get the NON DYED out the door. Skip the dye and right into the tanker maybe ????

Quoted: I would ask can you still get NON dyed fuel ? If so I bet they stop making the tax exempt stuff becuase its faster to get the NON DYED out the door. Skip the dye and right into the tanker maybe ????

Dyed diesel is high sulpher, tax exempt.  Clear diesel is low sulpher, taxed.  There is a low sulpher, dyed, tax exempt fuel but we have not been able to get that either.

Maybe a political answer is what is needed...  There is no justifiable reason for these vessels not to have access to fuel any more than a guy with a duelly in Dallas.   If the argument is that all the fuel needs to by processed as low sulfer to enhance efficiency & distribution, then the State should agree to waive all the road taxes or allow the users to apply for refund for the taxes.    

The commercial users should be able to buy taxed diesel then claim the fuel tax credit on their tax returns next year to get the taxes back, but that means they have to cough up the cash now and wait until at least January to get the money back.  At several thousand gallons per buyer, it can add up quick.