Gas vs. milk?

A

a.k.a. Patrick

New member
I dont get it. A Gal of milk is running about $3.50, and so is gasoline. Last I understood it, cow eats grass, cow is mechanically milked, milked shipped to processing plant, homogenized, bottled, shipped to retailer, and sold to the consumer. This can all take place from cow to shelf in roughly two days.

Now gasoline on the other hand starts below ground as crude oil, and is refined numerous times. Contains well over a dozen hazardous chemicals, all of which must meet strict OSHA or other Federal regulations.

It just seems to me that either milk is way overpriced, or were getting a heck of a deal at $3.50 a gal for gas?

Interesting facts, theres only one other country which produces more milk then the USA, thats India. The United States accounts for nearly 1/2 of the worlds gasoline consumption. :hm
 
I need a couple of holestiens.

They're gonna rip us off one way or the other. I swear its a good thing they cant charge us for the air we breath (unless your in the hospital or have a home oxygen unit - electrical).

President Bush- "Its clear, our economy has slowed" - oh really, you think. How much did it cost to pay that advisor to tell you that.



We need to go green. I think as long as oil companies are lining the pockets of politicians, we're not gonna get any better when it comes to our dependancy on oil.



I need a garden.
 
Yeah for letters telling everyone thats getting a rebate that their getting a rebate.



Here's an idea. Save a tree and $42 Mill. Just send the check.
 
On a similar note where these two things come into comparison:



The last time I checked, people don't regularly consume 20-30 gallons of milk every 2 weeks (and I hope not).



I see gas prices as a historical relative rather than a buyer's comparison. I miss the days when I could take $30 and get a full tank in my F150.
 
I've been commenting for months on this board about how milk is actually more expensive per gallon than gas. Gas prices suck, but it's a nonrenewable resource that we depend on other countries to supply us with so I can see why it's so expensive. I know why milk's price is on the rise, but at the same time I don't get why it's more expensive than gas. It just doesn't add up to me.



I've been shocked with the prices of milk for the past year now but I'm more surprised with the cost of eggs. A couple of months back I walked out of Sam's Club thinking there was a mistake on my receipt when I bought an 18 pack of eggs. It almost cost $7 for a dozen and a half! It generally takes us 3-4 weeks to go through 18 eggs, and the price had literally doubled from the last time I had bought it.



No milk, no eggs, no cheese, no bread... damn it's times like these when I wish I had food stamps and WIC so I could have me some grilled gov't cheese sandwiches and a bowl of Kix cereal and milk.
 
I remember reading something a while back about there being a surplus of milking cows, which were sold to the meat packing plants. That created a shortage of milking cows and therefore the price went up.



Now throw in fuel, demand, etc and the prices have support at their current levels. It will take a sustained increase in supply or a sustained decrease in demand to see prices fall and eventually find their way to consumers.
 
We have not seen the full impacts to the prices due to gas, milk, and virtually every other commodity. Hang on....
 
Bunky said:
We have not seen the full impacts to the prices due to gas, milk, and virtually every other commodity. Hang on....
Click to expand...

I agree and that's the scary part. I was just reading an article on over-the-road truck drivers that cannot even afford food because every dime they make goes back into the diesel tank. Trucking prices are sure to go up as well, which raises the prices on pretty much everything. Unemployment is the highest it has been in 5 years. Credit rates are jumping because people cannot afford to pay their outstanding debt. Our food is so expensive that we cannot export it to other countries.
 
Well, I'm not about to argue on either side of the renewable/non-renewable resource issue. There is enough to debate there for a whole other forum unto itself. Back to the OP's question. Isn't it just a simple case of economics? I don't have time to track down figures but I'd imagine that the oil companies are producing and distributing on a much larger scale to meet consumption demands. As a result, the per gallon cost (acquiring, refining, distribution, etc) is reduced and the profit margin can also go down while still pulling in big bucks annually.
 
Oh yeah! Thats right, eggs are as expensive as milk for a dozen, and the price of a loaf of bread? Almost $4.00!? *** people!

Isn't it just a simple case of economics?
Click to expand...
Supply and demand? So if America consumed less the 44% of the worlds gasoline, the prices would go down? Greedy bastards, OPEC has the final say. When oil was $95.00 a barrel, gas was near $4.00. Now with oil at $104.00 a barrel, its heading to near $4.00 a gallon, again. Theres something wrong with that equation. 10% increase in raw material, but end price still the same. So just where did/does that 10% go?

Who do we pissed at, government? I work for the government, and havent had a "raise" for nearly 15 years other then a cheap a** COL which normally amount to about 2.5% a year. Oh whoopy frickin do!Thats not enough to cover the cost increase of fuel, eggs, milk and bread which are consumed in my family on a monthly basis.!!

What REALLY, is going on in America? Home values went to an all time high, then come crashing down. Now you cant even get a loan unless you have unmarred credit.

Why am I ranting.........................lmao.
 
Just from a market standpoint, I though that staples (milk, bread, eggs...) do not follow the same traditional supply/demand rules.
 
a.k.a. Patrick said:
...When oil was $95.00 a barrel, gas was near $4.00. Now with oil at $104.00 a barrel, its heading to near $4.00 a gallon, again. Theres something wrong with that equation. 10% increase in raw material, but end price still the same. So just where did/does that 10% go?...
Click to expand...



I hear you man and it sucks seeing gas prices go up so fast in a short amount of time. One saving grace though, at least we are not paying at the levels of our European country counterparts. I think they are paying about $8-$9 per gallon. Now that's some crazy prices.
 
todd@bsaw said:
Just from a market standpoint, I though that staples (milk, bread, eggs...) do not follow the same traditional supply/demand rules.
Click to expand...



They're inelastic goods, due to the poor number of alternatives. Milk is killing me right now (I drink a ton of coffee) at 4 bucks a gallon for off-brand and *7* for the good stuff. And premium just hit 3.79 at the station across from school.
 
Regarding trucking costs, I work in logistics. It is kind of a crazy time right now...the flatbed truckers don't have a lot of products to haul, because most of what flatbeds haul are building products, and building products are down due to a slowdown in the building industry. So, what you have is a lack of supply of freight for them to move, which drives the rates down, all while diesel prices are going up. Meanwhile, truckers are having to deadhead further to pick up a load due to the lack of available freight, while doing so for less money, and are paying more for fuel. Just about every other day, I hear of a flatbed carrier that has gone out of business.
 
a.k.a. Patrick said:
I dont get it. A Gal of milk is running about $3.50, and so is gasoline. Last I understood it, cow eats grass, cow is mechanically milked, milked shipped to processing plant, homogenized, bottled, shipped to retailer, and sold to the consumer. This can all take place from cow to shelf in roughly two days.

Now gasoline on the other hand starts below ground as crude oil, and is refined numerous times. Contains well over a dozen hazardous chemicals, all of which must meet strict OSHA or other Federal regulations.

It just seems to me that either milk is way overpriced, or were getting a heck of a deal at $3.50 a gal for gas?

Interesting facts, theres only one other country which produces more milk then the USA, thats India. The United States accounts for nearly 1/2 of the worlds gasoline consumption. :hm
Click to expand...



To add to the confusion guess how much a gallon of inket printer ink will run ya, do the math it is around $3000 and up. Wait until the oil companies figure out they are in the wrong business :D



The Grouse: The Inkjet Refill Racket | Popular Science
 
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