garfield Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 (edited) EDIT: for tour mileage and results (thanks, BradF) Was reading an investment report on fracking, the supply of oil, and the impact on current global oil prices. In it, a strong case was made that the price per barrel of oil could drop to $40/bbl by mid-2015, representing a 60% decline from the prices just this summer. "Imagine", it said, "oil prices at $40/bbl could mean gasoline prices at $1.60/gal and diesel prices at $2.20/gal at the pump." This is not the first of such prognostications and is hardly on the fringe of current belief. (The DrudgeReport headline as I type is "The Oil Christmas" along with a picture of a gushing oil well.) Some quick math on how fracking might affect the summer tour... A typical corps drives three buses (average 5 mpg diesel), two 18-wheelers (average about 7mpg diesel), an advance vehicle (a van of sorts, est. 15/mpg gas), and a staff RV (est. 10mpg gas or diesel). An average tour is about 13,000 per summer for total of about 90,000 road miles. At 2014 prices ($4 diesel and $3.40 gas), that typical imaginary corps spent around $51,000 on fuel. In 2015, if the predictions bear out, that same corps would spend just over $28,000 in fuel for the same tour, for savings of over $23,000. While the savings might be a rounding error for a corps that puts a million-dollar show on the field, it's a significant shot in the arm for a corps that manages to entertain us for less than half of that. It could be a significant dent towards purchasing new horns, uni, equipment, or even reducing tour fees. Drudge might have it wrong; Christmas might come in June for drum corps. Edited December 3, 2014 by garfield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 ...living near the are being fracked... not going there..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I dont think any corps would sneeze and $56 grand in savings. lower gas prices may encourage fans to travel more to see shows too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincoln Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 (edited) Sorry. I don't trust much of what I read. It could turn around in a week and anyone planning large gas expenditures should account for that. . Edited December 2, 2014 by Lincoln Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 Sorry. I don't trust much of what I read. It could turn around in a week and anyone planning large gas expenditures should account for that. . So you didn't trust the reports you read in 2008 that said gas prices could reach $4? Lincoln Navigators were all the rage at the time. Hummers, too, as drivers refused to believe that gas prices could reach $4/gal. Your viewpoint would make it tough for you to negotiate a "wet" lease for tour buses, I'm afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 So you didn't trust the reports you read in 2008 that said gas prices could reach $4? Lincoln Navigators were all the rage at the time. Hummers, too, as drivers refused to believe that gas prices could reach $4/gal. Your viewpoint would make it tough for you to negotiate a "wet" lease for tour buses, I'm afraid. Interesting G, but let's see what happens when the politicians get involved and how OPEC (Saudi Arabia) handles those possibilities. If it does happen, a great assist will be for the lower placing WO and most OC corps to compete in several more shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xandandl Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Garfield, "Fracking" has been with drum corps for many, many years.................................................just ask some BD trumpet/soprano soloists on DCI championship tapes. :-p Actually the term, finding its origin in the very fuel/oil/big business/OPEC concerns, has been in use in the Open Class on-the-bus-lingo for about the past five seasons and refers to when certain World Class corps derive their membership by raiding/enticing/drawing their membership from the ranks of other corps. The earthquakes this type of fracking prompts usually results in the decimation of some smaller corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 (edited) Garfield, "Fracking" has been with drum corps for many, many years.................................................just ask some BD trumpet/soprano soloists on DCI championship tapes. :-p Actually the term, finding its origin in the very fuel/oil/big business/OPEC concerns, has been in use in the Open Class on-the-bus-lingo for about the past five seasons and refers to when certain World Class corps derive their membership by raiding/enticing/drawing their membership from the ranks of other corps. The earthquakes this type of fracking prompts usually results in the decimation of some smaller corps. Ha! The double meaning never crossed my mind. Great catch X. Funny (except for the corps' demise part, of course). Edited December 2, 2014 by garfield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Cadet Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Garfield, "Fracking" has been with drum corps for many, many years.................................................just ask some BD trumpet/soprano soloists on DCI championship tapes. :-p Actually the term, finding its origin in the very fuel/oil/big business/OPEC concerns, has been in use in the Open Class on-the-bus-lingo for about the past five seasons and refers to when certain World Class corps derive their membership by raiding/enticing/drawing their membership from the ranks of other corps. The earthquakes this type of fracking prompts usually results in the decimation of some smaller corps. Funny, I thought that was the subject of this thread when I opened it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cappybara Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Yeah I thought this was going to be about trumpet fracking. Disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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