China has a Severe Energy Crisis.

TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
The European press has been buzzing with the news of a severe energy crisis in China, driven largely by a severe coal shortage.

China now accounts for 50% of the world's coal consumption. However their coal reserves I now learn are dwindling. They can't buy coal anywhere, as other countries are shuttering coal mines. The UK has lots of coal mines, but I don't think it has had a working mine in years. It does have some coal reserves though, and was forced to start four moth balled coal power stations recently, when wind power was becalmed for four straight days. This is coupled with a world shortage of natural gas, especially in Europe, where prices are going up off the clock, and UK gas companies going bust at an alarming rate. The UK came close to revolving power cuts and it is not even winter. Factories have gone on reduced hours, especially high energy ones like fertilizer plants. This interrupted perishable food supplies due to lack of CO2 production!

There is a shortage of HGV drivers in the UK, USA and continental Europe. This now has a knock on effect of over 100 container ships at anchor off the California coast, because they can't be unloaded.

However, by far the worst affected appears to be China, with industrial production plummeting and also fuel shortages as in the UK. They are having rolling power cuts and limiting elevator use in buildings.

The stock markets today in the US and Europe have fallen dramatically today.

Some financial advisers in Europe have advised converting retirement funds to cash for safe keeping, which sounds drastic to me.

One thing I do know, that industrial output in China has now gone into free fall, and is compounded by a massive failure of the JIT logistics transport system world wide.

One thing for sure is that our electronic toys are going to become very scarce with huge price rises. We have one thread on this about severe SVS price rises. There will be a lot more to come.

My advice, is to really look after your equipment and try and buy for longevity and not exotic features.

My sense is that this energy, production, and transport mayhem is going to substantially worsen at least in the short to medium term. It may well be the long term as the switch from fossil fuels to renewables continues apace, with total neglect of bass loads. Planning for all this with the commissioning of large numbers of nuclear power stations for the lions share of energy production has been left too late.

My sense is that we are in big trouble, with not only the chickens coming home to roots, but massive flocks of turkeys!
 
A

Akamaister

Audiophyte
Xi has a lot of problems on his hands. First he has to deal with Evergrande. Then he has to control his hawks who want to invade Taiwan. Another crisis like Covid-19 is going to make the West think twice about allowing China to control so many key manufacturing sectors. The fact that Australia turned to the U.S. for nuclear-powered submarines should tell us how worried our allies are about China (and Russia). The Zombie Apocalypse can come in many different forms. The fact that no one can predict the future is disturbing.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
The European press has been buzzing with the news of a severe energy crisis in China, driven largely by a severe coal shortage.

China now accounts for 50% of the world's coal consumption. However their coal reserves I now learn are dwindling. They can't buy coal anywhere, as other countries are shuttering coal mines. The UK has lots of coal mines, but I don't think it has had a working mine in years. It does have some coal reserves though, and was forced to start four moth balled coal power stations recently, when wind power was becalmed for four straight days. This is coupled with a world shortage of natural gas, especially in Europe, where prices are going up off the clock, and UK gas companies going bust at an alarming rate. The UK came close to revolving power cuts and it is not even winter. Factories have gone on reduced hours, especially high energy ones like fertilizer plants. This interrupted perishable food supplies due to lack of CO2 production!

There is a shortage of HGV drivers in the UK, USA and continental Europe. This now has a knock on effect of over 100 container ships at anchor off the California coast, because they can't be unloaded.

However, by far the worst affected appears to be China, with industrial production plummeting and also fuel shortages as in the UK. They are having rolling power cuts and limiting elevator use in buildings.

The stock markets today in the US and Europe have fallen dramatically today.

Some financial advisers in Europe have advised converting retirement funds to cash for safe keeping, which sounds drastic to me.

One thing I do know, that industrial output in China has now gone into free fall, and is compounded by a massive failure of the JIT logistics transport system world wide.

One thing for sure is that our electronic toys are going to become very scarce with huge price rises. We have one thread on this about severe SVS price rises. There will be a lot more to come.

My advice, is to really look after your equipment and try and buy for longevity and not exotic features.

My sense is that this energy, production, and transport mayhem is going to substantially worsen at least in the short to medium term. It may well be the long term as the switch from fossil fuels to renewables continues apace, with total neglect of bass loads. Planning for all this with the commissioning of large numbers of nuclear power stations for the lions share of energy production has been left too late.

My sense is that we are in big trouble, with not only the chickens coming home to roots, but massive flocks of turkeys!
JIT is dead in the AV industry. Nobody has much in stock, nor do they have an idea of when they can get stock. Some items are coming in, but not across the board of product selection. To make matters worse, it seems that most distributors and manufacturers (the ones I have spoken with, anyway) have lost customer & tech support staff because of layoffs/firing and the replacements don't have a damn clue about the products they sell.

I really try to avoid conspiracy theories, but if someone were to write a script about a powerful group who wanted to find a path toward world domination and control, COVID would work as well as anything I have heard of.
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
Maybe corporate greed is finally surplanted by an energy crisis and covid and will hopefully drive onshore manufacturing again. Pay a little more for products that last.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
Maybe corporate greed is finally surplanted by an energy crisis and covid and will hopefully drive onshore manufacturing again. Pay a little more for products that last.
Not that I like rampant greed in corporations or individuals, but you really need to look at the reasons labor has been moved offshore, starting largely in the late-'70s and early-'80s. US TV and electronics manufacturers couldn't match the price/performance of Asian (mostly Japanese) products, so something had to be done and that 'thing' was to move production to Mexico, as well as impose tariffs on some goods. Sony and others countered by moving their own manufacturing to Mexico and then, Zenith & others either folded or were bought by Asian companies. The US has the highest per capita income in the world, yet that drives prices. It also drives people to want more because they think in the short term, not the long. "I have money I haven't even spent, yet" isn't a foreign idea here.

Manufacturing for the US markets, on the scale it has reached, should never have left our country but the desire for low prices and massive numbers of products, coupled with the use of some materials that have been banned by environmental agencies make this a difficult problem to solve when outside competitors sell for less and manipulate their own currency to do it.
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
Not that I like rampant greed in corporations or individuals, but you really need to look at the reasons labor has been moved offshore, starting largely in the late-'70s and early-'80s. US TV and electronics manufacturers couldn't match the price/performance of Asian (mostly Japanese) products, so something had to be done and that 'thing' was to move production to Mexico, as well as impose tariffs on some goods. Sony and others countered by moving their own manufacturing to Mexico and then, Zenith & others either folded or were bought by Asian companies. The US has the highest per capita income in the world, yet that drives prices. It also drives people to want more because they think in the short term, not the long. "I have money I haven't even spent, yet" isn't a foreign idea here.

Manufacturing for the US markets, on the scale it has reached, should never have left our country but the desire for low prices and massive numbers of products, coupled with the use of some materials that have been banned by environmental agencies make this a difficult problem to solve when outside competitors sell for less and manipulate their own currency to do it.
Thats some of the reasons production was off shored. Its time to bring some of it back, dont you think?
 
Trell

Trell

Audioholic Spartan
Thats some of the reasons production was off shored. Its time to bring some of it back, dont you think?
Some labour intensive production that is amendable to automation using, say, robotics, is coming back, but it does not generate that many new jobs.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Can you include the link to the website where you got that information from ?
You're correct to ask for a source, as people who claim that usually have no idea what they are talking about.
That said, they aren't entirely wrong.
The US is indeed #1 in the world for Disposable Income Per Capita. Source:https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets-economy/090616/5-countries-most-money-capita.asp
But not If you count GDP per Capita, nor GPD adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), not even by median income.
To bring counterargument for the US being #1 for disposable income, we also way behind infrastructure, Public Education, Health and Metal health systems, Social assistance, Human Rights... etc.
So we get to keep more money and pay much fewer taxes, but everything costs an arm and leg and is usually of poor quality.
Congrats to us all for "small government," relentless tax cuts, and overblown defense.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Makes me wonder how our hydroelectric production stats are looking like in the US....Mead is getting close to not being able to supply Hoover dam's hydroelectric production needs for example and we've not seen a shakeout on the grab for Colorado river water either. Believe Grand Coulee is also facing some drought related issues. China will probably muddle thru and figure out how to ramp up coal extraction, believe they have sufficient reserves for the immediate future....
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Makes me wonder how our hydroelectric production stats are looking like in the US....Mead is getting close to not being able to supply Hoover dam's hydroelectric production needs for example and we've not seen a shakeout on the grab for Colorado river water either. Believe Grand Coulee is also facing some drought related issues. China will probably muddle thru and figure out how to ramp up coal extraction, believe they have sufficient reserves for the immediate future....
The USA isn't alone in the reduction of hydropower, China's hydroelectric output has also fallen, partially contributing to increased dependency on their thermal power.
Call me tin hat madman, but I fail to see this is anything but a direct result of climate change and its denial by rich people.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
Thats some of the reasons production was off shored. Its time to bring some of it back, dont you think?
I have thought it was time to bring it back years ago, since I have been in the AV business for so long. Supply problems aren't new, but this is ridonculous. Also, tech and customer support quality are at an all time low. I did talk with someone at Spectrum this evening and she has been there for a decent amount of time- I recognized her laugh and the fact that she hates iPhones.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
The USA isn't alone in the reduction of hydropower, China's hydroelectric output has also fallen, partially contributing to increased dependency on their thermal power.
Call me tin hat madman, but I fail to see this is anything but a direct result of climate change and its denial by rich people.
Yes that was the point in the article TLS linked from Reuters that got me wondering about our own hydroelectric power, which apparently is down in production as well. Seems ours is down quite a bit in some looking around, EIA says we're due to be down about 14% for such compared to 2020 from one thing I saw.....
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
Can you include the link to the website where you got that information from ?
Actually, you make a good point by asking- IIRC, it's someplace in the Middle East, like Abu Dabi.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Yes that was the point in the article TLS linked from Reuters that got me wondering about our own hydroelectric power, which apparently is down in production as well. Seems ours is down quite a bit in some looking around, EIA says we're due to be down about 14% for such compared to 2020 from one thing I saw.....
apparently, we both linked to the same article but drew different conclusions.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Actually, you make a good point by asking- IIRC, it's someplace in the Middle East, like Abu Dabi.
see my comment #11 above.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
Makes me wonder how our hydroelectric production stats are looking like in the US....Mead is getting close to not being able to supply Hoover dam's hydroelectric production needs for example and we've not seen a shakeout on the grab for Colorado river water either. Believe Grand Coulee is also facing some drought related issues. China will probably muddle thru and figure out how to ramp up coal extraction, believe they have sufficient reserves for the immediate future....
Lake Mead is filled by the Colorado, but only by what comes from the Little Colorado, other smaller streams- the majority comes from Lake Powell and while that's down 154' from full pool, it's still at about 3545 ft above sea level as of yesterday. The same link shows the depth of Lake Powell is about 414' at the Glenn Canyon Dam.

 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
see my comment #11 above.
I was basing it on memory.
 

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