« February 2008 Table of Contents 
Editor's Note: No relief in sight
By Fiona Robinson, Editor in Chief
February 01, 2008
You don't have to shell out more than $40 at the local gas
station to hear people muttering about energy costs. Who
remembers the days when gas was less than $2.50 a gallon? With
upward of 80 percent of the U.S. seafood supply coming from
overseas, more than a few suppliers have had serious
discussions about rising production and distribution costs
impacting their margins.
The first step in the supply chain where fuel hits the
wallet hard is obvious - commercial fishermen. Every step
further down the seafood supply chain has to grapple with the
same dilemma: increase prices to stay afloat and risk losing
customers. Crude oil prices have remained above $90 a barrel
for long enough that relief doesn't seem imminent, and experts
say we could be in for a long, expensive, energy-dependent road
ahead.
An article in the Jan. 14 issue of Newsweek , "Why We Can't
Stop $100 Oil," put the energy crisis in perspective. Although
some Americans have adjusted their spending habits to reduce
oil consumption, worldwide oil demand has not lessened at all.
Global crude oil use rose 1.4 percent in 2007, according to
OPEC, fueled by demand from China and the Middle East - not
from the United States. Energy experts argue oil prices are
beyond our control, and I tend to agree. We may be saving money
driving an extra mile to get cheaper gas, but driving the extra
mile puts us financially back where we started, not to mention
the environmental impact of driving that extra mile.
What does this mean for the seafood industry? Don't start
looking for relief. If you've been putting off upgrading your
delivery fleet to more fuel-efficient trucks, or adding a
supplemental heating system to lessen dependence on heating
oil, don't put it off any longer. The cows could come home
sometime in the next decade, but they will be hitching a ride
on a hybrid.