[joewp]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Pain is not just at the pump
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 05/14/06, BY MICHAEL L. DIAMOND, BUSINESS WRITER:
Faced with the sudden rise in the price of asphalt, Michael Corrigan had to take some drastic steps to keep his Jackson paving company, Blacktop Technologies, afloat. He cut back on the number of dump trucks he sends out to paving projects. He laid off two workers. And he set aside his office duties so he could help out in the field. And still, it wasn't enough to prevent a price increase for his customers.

That's because asphalt is an oil-based product, and the price of oil has skyrocketed. While most people draw the connection between oil and gasoline, the rising price of oil is being felt throughout the Shore economy, touching every product and service that are tied to oil, whether it is asphalt used to pave a homeowner's driveway or a boat chartered to take people on a fishing trip.

"It's hurting the consumer," Corrigan said.

Economists say the hike in the price of oil is worrisome. Consumers have to spend money on gasoline that they otherwise might spend at malls or on a trip to the beach this summer. Businesses have to spend money on gasoline that they otherwise could spend on new technology or hiring another worker. And companies are considering charging higher prices to recoup their escalating costs.

High energy prices "did contribute significantly to three of the past four recessions, so it's always a warning sign," said James W. Hughes, an economist and dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. "You never know you're in a bubble until it bursts."

A barrel of crude oil last Thursday cost $73.32, up more than 50 percent from last year, mainly because the supply has declined and the demand remains strong, experts have said. The market also has reacted to a variety of geopolitical events. Last week, for example, crude oil futures jumped after police said gunmen in Nigeria kidnapped two oil workers, intensifying worries about a disruption, The Associated Press reported.

More at The Asbury Park Press

[JoeCoal]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Timbuk 3', 'T')he Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades

[Vexed]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'P')ain is not just at the pump

[Longsword]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Vexed', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'P')ain is not just at the pump

[peaker_2005]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JoeCoal', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Timbuk 3', 'T')he Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades

[ohanian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')A barrel of crude oil last Thursday cost $73.32, up more than 50 percent from last year, mainly because the supply has declined and the demand remains strong, experts have said. The market also has reacted to a variety of geopolitical events. Last week, for example, crude oil futures jumped after police said gunmen in Nigeria kidnapped two oil workers, intensifying worries about a disruption, The Associated Press reported.

[seldom_seen]

Can you take a chunk of asphalt and throw it in the fire like a piece of wood or coal? If so, we have the home heating source for the future. Our roads and parking lots!

[pea-jay]

Asphalt is only 6-8% oil by weight. Or volume. And the oil is the real heavy stuff too. Some smart road repavers use machines that chops old asphalt, heats it up and adds a marginal amount of new oil and then re-lays it down as new streets or parking lot. To extract that oil, you'd need one heck of an operation. THings would need to get desperate to get that stuff.

[emersonbiggins]

Asphalt doesn't need desperate suburbanites tearing it up for home heating - it deteriorates fine all by itself (5-10 years).

Just pick up a chunk.

[dogf]

It would be an interesting experiment to grab a chunk and boil it like the tar sands. Just to be able to see if this might end up being a good back up after all the forests are used.

[holmes]

O no. Its gonna get real ugly. You know there are alternative ways of living. No really. LOL!

[Tanada]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('seldom_seen', 'C')an you take a chunk of asphalt and throw it in the fire like a piece of wood or coal? If so, we have the home heating source for the future. Our roads and parking lots!

[EndOfSewers]

[web]http://www.manitobanet.com/newsCKLQ.php?subject=news[/web] (scroll to the bottom)
Here in Saskatchewan the spring budget had to allocate an extra $45 million to cover increased asphalt costs.

[pea-jay]

Well, yah that would be an understandable reaction. My jurisdiction I used to work for budgeted their repaving numbers well in advance. Increases in costs simply resulted in fewer lane miles of new asphalt.

[Concerned]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pea-jay', 'W')ell, yah that would be an understandable reaction. My jurisdiction I used to work for budgeted their repaving numbers well in advance. Increases in costs simply resulted in fewer lane miles of new asphalt.

[pea-jay]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'E')ventually you have to repair the roads otherwise the cars won't be able to travel along them

[Sys1]

SUV don't need any asphalt ! They are so robust with their fat wheels!
Let's buy huge Hummers !

[EndOfSewers]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pea-jay', 'Y')ou could also let them revert back to unpaved status. My county also wanted to do that in response to the increasing cost of paving.

[Novus]

Asphalt can be recycled for repaving. The roads near where I live are so heavly traveled they need to be repaved every 18 months. The old asphalt is ripped up and recycled otherwise by now the roads would be ten feet thick. It has been very expensive. The state's transportation buget is bunkrupt. The entire state gas tax is used simply to service interest on past debts. Road funding is now comming out of the general budget but what we really need is a new 50 cent gas tax.

[pea-jay]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Novus', 'A')sphalt can be recycled for repaving. The roads near where I live are so heavly traveled they need to be repaved every 18 months. The old asphalt is ripped up and recycled otherwise by now the roads would be ten feet thick. It has been very expensive. The state's transportation buget is bunkrupt. The entire state gas tax is used simply to service interest on past debts. Road funding is now comming out of the general budget but what we really need is a new 50 cent gas tax.