Storm Recovery Update – Southeast Moves to Code Orange; Florida, Texas still Code Red

This morning, Mansfield officially moved to Code Orange for the Southeast from Mississippi to North Carolina. Virginia remains on Code Red due to some supply tightness in Norfolk. Throughout the Southeast, supply is significantly improved, though carrier capacity remains a constraint in some markets. Long lines at racks have continued to cause some logistics issues.

Mansfield has moved the Northeast to Code Orange as a precautionary measure, from New Jersey/Pennsylvania up to Massachusetts. Hurricane Jose’s forecast has shifted west somewhat over the past few days. While the storm is still forecast to avoid landfall, some of the outer-edges of the storm may scrape the northeast. Currently, the move to Code Orange is strictly precautionary, and we do not expect any fuel disruption in the northeast, but we are tracking the storm in the low-probability chance that the models shift further west.

Florida and Texas continue improving. Texas has seen supply tighten somewhat in Dallas/Ft Worth and West Texas, but continues improving elsewhere. We remain on Code Red for many Texas markets. Florida’s supply situation has improved, though carrier capacity remains a bottleneck on deliveries and has kept Mansfield at Code Red for the state. For more information about Florida’s fuel situation, check out today’s FUELSNews article: Hurricane Irma’s Impact on Fuel.

Texas Supply: 

Markets remain tight, but are generally improving. Houston and Corpus Christi are the bright spots for supply, while San Antonio, Dallas, and West Texas remain on Code Red until at least early next week. Long hauls from out-of-state are still necessary in some areas, but supply is slowly beginning to improve. Refining capacity is substantially improved, with 13 out of 20 affected refineries now at or near full capacity. Of the remaining seven, five are undergoing restarts.

• San Antonio: Some terminals coming back online, though lines at rack remain long. Diesel supply improving slightly; however, carrier constraints still require long hauls to cover local demand. Gasoline is still tight and expected to be so through next week.
• Houston: No changes. Code Orange on all products. Houston market is generally able to support local demand, but is not strong enough to support surrounding cities facing outages.
• Dallas FTW: Supply is getting tigheter, resupply expected on Sunday. Still seeing long lines at rack.
• Corpus Christi: Supply remains in good shape, and this market has been a sourcing point for long-hauls. Carrier capacity is the main constraint on re-supply efforts.
• West Texas/El Paso: No diesel in Odessa. Waiting on resupply, product will remain extremely tight for at least a week.  Expecting this to be the last Texas market to move to Code Orange.

Southeast Supply: 

Mississippi through North Carolina have moved to Code Orange. Virginia still experiencing tightness, particularly in Norfolk. Supply has improved significantly in the Southeast, though long lines at racks remain. Even in some areas with sufficient supply, lack of available local carriers has required long-hauls from other markets.

Diesel remains in better shape than gasoline, which is available but limited. Diesel unbranded allocations are slowly coming back online.

Florida Supply:

Power is slowing coming back online in Florida, and the number without power has fallen from over 6 million to 1.7 million. All major terminals in Florida have resumed operations, though some were offline yesterday due to power issues. Ports are open and vessels are lining up to bring in supply. Main limitation in all markets is carrier capacity.

• Miami/Pt Everglades: Major terminals have all reopened, but carrier capacity is extremely limited. Port is now open.
• Tampa: Major terminals are all open. Orlando is currently tight, will improve this afternoon. Carrier capacity is very tight. Extremely high demand (150% of normal) is stretching carrier capacity thin.
• Jacksonville: No updates from yesterday. Terminals and ports are online.

Market Summary

Mansfield continues to work around the clock to help our customers fuel during the storm. If you have any questions or need to secure supply in the Gulf, Southeast, or in Florida, please reach out to your sales rep or customer relationship manager for more information about ordering product. Please place orders 48-72 hours in advance whenever possible, to allow time to secure supply and freight during the shortage.

Code Red (Areas with significantly reduced or unavailable supply)

• Austin, TX
• Beaumont, TX
• Buda, TX
• Dallas/Ft Worth, TX
• El Paso, TX
• Port Arthur, TX
• San Antonio, TX
• Waco, TX
• Florida

Code Orange (Areas with limited supply availability)

• Corpus Christi, TX
• Edinburgh, TX
• Harlingen, TX
• Houston, TX
• Odessa, TX
• Lake Charles, LA
• Baton Rouge, LA
• Southeast States (Mississippi through North Carolina)
• Northeast States