Pellet Prices going down?!

[chris2006]

I know there is a lot of talk on this forum about the price of pellets going up...especially in the northeast. I just wanted to share something nice with everyone...hopefully it is happening in more areas than just mine. About 2 weeks ago, I went to purchase pellets at the local home depot and found they were running for 299/ton! I could not believe that in a years time it had gone up 100/ton or 2 dollars a bag. I decided to wait and check other places out. I went back to the depot today to pick up something else and found that they had lowered their pellets to 267/ton! Almost 30 bucks a ton in less than 2 weeks?! I also did a quick count and they had almost 50 tons of pellets on hand...talk about backfiring!! HAHA

 

[Shane]

I notice ample supply at the pellet dealers in our area too. Prices are holding but supply is more than plentiful.

 

[Choppedliver]

It may seem that 50 tons on pellets is alot, but for most home depots and other wood pellet seller like me for example, 50 tons of pellets is a 2-5 day supply this time of year.

 

[richg]

This situation is as old as the hills: it's called supply and demand. Right after Katrina, mass hysteria broke out about the rising cost of oil and natural gas. Hordes stampeded to pellets, thinking that they would somehow save with this "secret" fuel...over and over, people justified the cost of the stove by saying, "It will pay for itself". Well, the huge run on stoves and pellets pushed the price of both far above pre-Katrina levels. Pellet mills couldn't meet the demand, and where demand exceeds supply, profiteering sets in. Have you seen the Ebay prices people are paying for a Playstation 3? EEEEK! Fast forward one year: oil prices have dropped massively, natural gas prices are down, and pellet supply is increasing. People won't buy and burn pellets at $270.00 per ton if oil or gas heat is cheaper. It would not surprise me to see pellet prices drop further, and the profiteers will have killed the goose that laid the golden egg. Mind you, I have no issue with a hearth shop or Home Depot making a proft on pellets. They are in business to make money, not for entertainment. I do have a serious issue with price-gouging suppliers who give a lame-@$$ excuse that rising trucking costs are to blame. If trucking costs were the isssue, everything from shampoo to cars would have rocketed in price commensurate with pellets. Prices on sundry items did not increase, as there was no mass hysteria buying. Greed, pure and simple.

 

[iceman]

I notice ample supply at the pellet dealers in our area too. Prices are holding but supply is more than plentiful.

same in western ma for they are holding out because winter hasn't kicked in yet.. but if it stay warm who knows

 

[HarryBack]

cant disagree with you more. Prices have been dropping for a few weeks now. Might I also mention that I predicted this two MONTHS Ago?

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/3090/

Supply is plentiful, enough so that the pellet co's are developing excess inventory, or still have excess inventory left over from when they brought pellets in. Supply and demand...definitely. But dont tell me that shipping hasnt increased. I pay $55.00/ton to get Allegheny pellets up here from PA. Thats a cost right on top of the /ton cost of pellets that I pass on to the consumer. Dont forget that in a truckload of shampoo theres ALOT of shampoo, so the price increase wouldnt be as noticeable, whereas there is only 22 tons of pellets on a tractor-trailer, so this is more than noticeable. Also, folks tend to recall the /ton price they paid last year, but Im betting you dont recall what you paid for shampoo last year, do you?

 

[Mike Wilson]

If you bought higher, I'd start cost averaging, and buy some now.

-- Mike

 

[mrgoodwrench]

I admit it, I ran out last year and purchased a Harman pellet stove, and bought 4 tons of pellet @ $150 a ton. This year pellets are around $225 a ton here in Virginia. I won't give into these inflated prices. I will only burn the remaining pellets I have from this past year. I would rather work a day or two of overtime and pay my propane bill than to have to run 20 miles to load and unload a ton of pellets, 4 times.

 

[smirnov3]

cant disagree with you more. Prices have been dropping for a few weeks now. Might I also mention that I predicted this two MONTHS Ago?

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/3090/

Supply is plentiful, enough so that the pellet co's are developing excess inventory, or still have excess inventory left over from when they brought pellets in. Supply and demand...definitely. But dont tell me that shipping hasnt increased. I pay $55.00/ton to get Allegheny pellets up here from PA. Thats a cost right on top of the /ton cost of pellets that I pass on to the consumer. Dont forget that in a truckload of shampoo theres ALOT of shampoo, so the price increase wouldnt be as noticeable, whereas there is only 22 tons of pellets on a tractor-trailer, so this is more than noticeable. Also, folks tend to recall the /ton price they paid last year, but Im betting you dont recall what you paid for shampoo last year, do you?

WHAT?!?

You mean you DON'T buy your shampoo by the ton?

Oh, right. it's Harry Back, not Hairy.....

(runs for cover)

 

[restorer]

Seems price and availability are very localized. Here in Utah, There are still extreme shortages on premium pellets. Stove store is selling to only repeat customers, limited to one ton per month. They are trying to get some to everyone. I have bought through Sutherlands. Best price around, but not great. Called late yesterday and asked when they expected another load, they said they had one full and one partial pallet in for first come first serve. Bought my last ton twenty minutes later, by the time I was loaded the last was gone. That's 22 tons in one day. Next load will be next month. I paid $184.00. The average for this year is $159.99 per ton. I may buy some corn, but I think I have enough pellets. Lowe's and HD have some, but much over 20-25 tons each, and they were at about $200.00 per ton. Same as what I just bought. There may be a slowdown, but it isn't apparent here yet.

I notice ample supply at the pellet dealers in our area too. Prices are holding but supply is more than plentiful.

 

[Hammerjoe]

Seems price and availability are very localized. Here in Utah, There are still extreme shortages on premium pellets...Bought my last ton twenty minutes later, by the time I was loaded the last was gone...I paid $184.00. The average for this year is $129.99 per ton.

At those prices you wonder why there is a shortage??

 

[restorer]

Seems price and availability are very localized. Here in Utah, There are still extreme shortages on premium pellets...Bought my last ton twenty minutes later, by the time I was loaded the last was gone...I paid $184.00. The average for this year is $129.99 per ton.

At those prices you wonder why there is a shortage??

See correction in original post. My average is $159.99 per ton. Can't do math today, dividing by 4 is too complicated. By the way, I bought my first ton in June, so it has been over six months to stock.