Energy costs hit N.C. plants

Natural gas soars; layoffs, prices rise

This winter, hundreds of manufacturing employees across the state will head to the unemployment office. Among them will be at least 150 workers from the Pine Hall Brick company.

For the month of January, the Winston-Salem company will shut down half its production, chief executive Fletcher Steele said.

The culprit: high energy bills.
Since hurricanes Katrina and Rita disrupted the gas supply, Pine Hall Brick’s monthly gas bill has doubled.

In August, the company paid $700,000 for the natural gas it uses to power the kilns that heat the raw materials used to make the bricks, Steele said. In October, the bill was $1.4 million. “It shocks a lot of people,” he said. In 2001, Steele said, the company was paying just $200,000 a month.

Raleigh News and Observer